Never Let Me Go

ScreenplaY by
Alex Garland
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © COPYRIGHT 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. NO PORTION
OF THIS SCRIPT MAY BE PERFORMED, PUBLISHED, REPRODUCED, SOLD OR DISTRIBUTED
BY ANY MEANS, OR QUOTED OR PUBLISHED IN ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING ANY WEB SITE,
WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM
CORPORATION. DISPOSAL OF THIS SCRIPT COPY DOES NOT ALTER ANY OF
THE RESTRICTIONS SET FORTH ABOVE.
NEVER LET ME GO
Screenplay by Alex Garland
Adapted from the novel by

Kazuo Ishiguro
Shooting Script issued 24th March 2009
© DNA Films Limited 2009 Production Office:

1st Floor Unit 9, Safestore Business Centre
15 Greek Street Ingate Place,
London W1D 4DP London SW8 3NS
OPEN ON: *
1 BLACK SCREEN 1
KATHY (V.O.)
My name is Kathy.
CUT TO -
2 EXT. FIELD - EARLY EVENING 2
Long shadows as the sun goes down.
A field, by a road, lined with a fence.
Snagged in the barbed wire are hundreds of plastic bags.

Refuse and litter, blown by the wind, until they were *
caught.
KATHY (V.O.)
I’m twenty six years old, and
I’ve been a carer now for seven
years.
By the road, a car is parked up against the grass verge.
Standing by the car, a young woman with blonde hair, KATHY,

looks towards the fields.
KATHY (V.O.) (CONT’D)

My donors have always tended to
do better than expected. They
are hardly ever classified as
agitated, even before a fourth
donation.
CUT TO -
3 INT. OBSERVATION ROOM 3
- the same woman, KATHY, standing at the window of an

observation room.
She is absentmindedly twisting a metal bracelet on her

wrist, which is featureless except for an imprinted seven
digit number.
Through the glass, she is watching NURSES and SURGEONS

prepping a twenty six year-old man for operation.
TOMMY.
SHOOTING SCRIPT 24TH MARCH p2.
KATHY (V.O.)
I’m not trying to boast. It
means a lot to me, being able to
do my work well.
4 INT. OPERATING CHAMBER 4
TOMMY is in the process of being sedated.
He also wears a metal bracelet.
Beside him, an ANESTHETIST is inserting a drip into his

arm.
KATHY (V.O.)
Especially keeping the donors
calm.
5 INT. OBSERVATION ROOM 5
TOMMY turns his head to look at KATHY.
Their locked gaze is held for a beat.
Then KATHY nods. Very slight. As if to say: it’s okay.
TOMMY continues looking a moment longer.
Then the ANESTHETIST’S drug takes a hold of him. In a few

seconds, his eyes have gone heavy, then closed.
KATHY (V.O.)
Anyway, I’m not making any great
claims for myself.
BACK TO -
6 EXT. FIELD - EARLY EVENING 6
The plastic bags in the barbed wire snap and rustle in the
wind.
KATHY (V.O.)
I understand how other carers can
be resentful. They say: she’s
from Hailsham. No wonder she has
a great record. She can pick and
choose her own kind.
As we CLOSE IN on KATHY, leaning against the car, her hair

caught and whipped in the same wind...
... FADE IN the sound of children playing.


And it’s true. Hailsham was
special. We were lucky. Tommy,
Ruth, me. All of us.
CUT TO -
7 EXT. HAILSHAM - DAY 7
HAILSHAM SCHOOL: a large Victorian house, set in flat,

empty countryside.
The sky above is bright blue and cloudless. The sun is

bright. It is an idyll of early summer.
The extensive grounds of the school are surrounded by high

hedgerows. Nothing seems to connect it with the rest of
the world except a single grey ribbon of road.
Title:
NEVER LET ME GO
The title is not seen, but is SPOKEN by TOMMY.
After a few seconds, a title does appear on the screen.
PART 1: HAILSHAM
8 EXT. HAILSHAM GROUNDS - DAY 8
In sunlight, two girls, aged twelve, lie on their bellies

on a patch in front of the main house.
Both wear the metal bracelets - as do all students at

Hailsham, and all other facilities like it.
The grass is strewn with daisies.
One girl has blonde hair. This is KATHY.
The other is dark. This is RUTH.
KATHY is interlocking the stems of the small flowers,

frowning in concentration, making a daisy chain.
RUTH
I think one day I’d like...
RUTH pauses. Thinking a moment.
RUTH (CONT’D)
Four horses.
(beat)
No, five. Thunder, Bramble,
Daffodil, and...
RUTH trails off.
RUTH (CONT’D)
I don’t know all their names.
But I’d like five horses.
(beat)
The best would be Thunder. He’d
be dangerous to ride, so you
can’t ride him. You can ride
Bramble.
(beat)
As long as you don’t use your
crop on him.
KATHY
I wouldn’t anyway. I would have
thought that’s mean.
KATHY makes the last link.
She lifts the daisy chain delicately.
RUTH
Pretty.
KATHY
You have it.
KATHY places it over RUTH’S blonde hair...
... where it looks like it belongs.
RUTH
... Look.
KATHY follows RUTH’S gaze.
By the entrance of the main house, two women have appeared.

One is older, in her mid sixties. This is MISS EMILY, the
head guardian of Hailsham.
The other is younger, in her late twenties.
RUTH (CONT’D)
Who’s that with Miss Emily? Do
you think it’s the new guardian
they were telling us about?
KATHY
Miss Lucy. I think it must be.
RUTH
We haven’t had a new guardian for
ages.
A moment, as the two girls watch the two women, squinting

against the bright sunlight.
RUTH (CONT’D)
I wonder if she’ll fit in.
CUT TO -
8A EXT. HAILSHAM DAY - DAY 8A
A group of boys in their PE kits, run through an outdoor

covered walkway, watched by a CCTV camera - *
9 EXT. PLAYING FIELDS - DAY 9
- then onto the playing fields, watched by... *
10 EXT. ORNATE GATE - CONTINUOUS 10 *
... a group of girls, watching from the shade of a large *

ornate gate near the main building. *
The girls are joined by KATHY and RUTH.
LAURA
Ruth. Kath. Look - they’re
going to set off Tommy.
AMANDA
Light blue touch paper and stand
well back!
On the playing field, we see the boy they are referring to.
TOMMY. *
RUTH
He really doesn’t suspect a
thing.
The girls all laugh -
- except KATHY.
KATHY watches TOMMY with slight concern.

KATHY
He’s got his shirt on... His
favourite polo shirt.
From their vantage point, the girls can now see the boys
have started lining up. Two CAPTAINS have stepped forward
and are about to start picking teams.
One of the two captains is ARTHUR, a sporty boy who feels

as Alpha male as Tommy feels Delta.
The CAPTAINS start choosing team members. TOMMY stands -

almost a comical figure, puffing out his chest in order to
make himself stand out.
The other boys are noticeably less keen. Chatting, or

checking the tightness of their boot laces.
Even from a distance, we can sense TOMMY’S shift from

bright eagerness to puzzled concern, as four boys are
chosen before him...
Then five... six...
RUTH
It’s coming. Hold on... any
moment now...
... Until eventually TOMMY is left standing alone.
Realising he hasn’t been picked. And isn’t going to be

picked.
The boys all start sniggering.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
Seven seconds. Six, five, four,
three...
And SUDDENLY - before RUTH’S countdown can complete - TOMMY

explodes.
Head is thrown back. Bright red. Shaking. Screaming. *
The BOYS are now laughing openly - *
- then start to run away, on to the football pitch. *
Leaving TOMMY alone, directing his rage at the clear blue *

sky, arms and legs oddly rigid. *
11 EXT. PLAYING FIELDS - CONTINUOUS 11 *
DELETED *
The girls watch, a mixture of transfixed and absently

amused by this strange sight.
RUTH
I suppose it is a bit cruel, the
way they work him up like that.
But it’s his own fault. If he
learned to keep his cool, they’d
leave him alone.
RUTH looks to KATHY, as if for approval -
- but doesn’t get it.
KATHY has stood, and is walking away from the gate towards *
TOMMY.
13 EXT. PLAYING FIELDS - CONTINUOUS 13
KATHY approaches TOMMY, who is panting from the exertion of

his tantrum, still gazing up at the sky.
KATHY puts a hand on TOMMY’S arm -
- and TOMMY recoils violently, throwing his arm up,

knocking her hand aside and striking the side of her face.
The strike is an accident - a reaction of surprise and

confusion more than anger - but TOMMY seems even more
shocked than KATHY by what he has done.
A beat.
KATHY
Isn’t that your favourite shirt?
TOMMY says nothing.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
I just wanted to say, you
shouldn’t play football in that
shirt. You’ll only cover it in
mud.
TOMMY
(mumbling, a little
stunned)
So what? It’s nothing to do with
you anyway.
TOMMY starts to walk away.
KATHY watches him go.

KATHY rejoins the girls, who are coming out of the

pavilion, and make an outraged fuss over her.
LAURA
Are you all right, Kath?
RUTH
I can’t believe he hit you!
KATHY
I don’t think he meant to.
RUTH
Are you bleeding?
KATHY
No.
RUTH
He’s an animal. That’s what I
think.
KATHY doesn’t respond, and instead looks back to the

playing field.
Where she sees TOMMY -
- standing on the edge of the playing field, talking to the

new guardian, MISS LUCY.
TOMMY and MISS LUCY are too distant for us to hear their
conversation, but we can read some of the body language, *
when MISS LUCY reaches out and touches him lightly on the *
shoulder. *
Whatever MISS LUCY is saying, TOMMY is listening intently. *
RUTH (CONT’D) *
A mad animal.
15 INT. CORRIDOR - DAY 15
Children are lined to enter the MATRON’S office for a

medical examination.
The children are neatly lined, but chatting, and

unconcerned. These examinations are completely routine.
At the head of the queue are KATHY, RUTH and AMANDA.
A group of three children exit MATRON’S office, followed by

MATRON herself.
MATRON
Next.
16 INT. MATRON’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS 16
KATHY, RUTH and AMANDA are being examined by the MATRON,

and two male DOCTORS.
The presence of the two DOCTORS, and some high-tech pieces

of medical equipment, feel unnatural.
One of the DOCTORS is listening to RUTH’S chest with a

stethoscope.
AMANDA stands in front of the second DOCTOR, with her arms

raised. The man is using his hands to feel around her bare
torso, as if looking for lump tumours or sensitivities.
MATRON is examining KATHY, making notes on a clipboard

headed: KATHY H
She tilts KATHY’S head to the side, frowning slightly at

the slight bruise from where TOMMY accidentally struck her.
MATRON
What’s this from?
KATHY
(shrugs)
Don’t remember.
MATRON
Doctor.
The first DOCTOR glances round from RUTH.
He peers at KATHY’S bruise critically. For a beat or two

longer than would seem appropriate for such a small
contusion.
DOCTOR
It’s nothing. Just a bump.
17 INT. ART ROOM - DAY 17
A group of the Hailsham students are in the ART ROOM,

quietly working on paintings and sculptures.
In the corner of the room, another of their guardians, MISS

GERALDINE, is helping two of the children mix paint
colours. *
At her table, KATHY works on a sculpture. *

Meanwhile, RUTH pointedly leans over to the table beside *

them, where TOMMY is working.
RUTH *
Tommy. What are you doing? Show
us so we can have a look.
KATHY
(quiet, to Ruth)
No, Ruth. Don’t.
TOMMY looks up from his drawing, and sees a semi-circle of

faces looking back at him.
A beat, as he returns their gaze.
Then he spins the picture round so that it faces them.
RUTH
Oh! It’s a -
(she feigns uncertainty)
- what is it exactly?
AMANDA
I think it must be a dog. Is it
a dog, Tommy?
One of the boys, ARTHUR - who had been one of the team-
pickers from the playing fields - joins in.
ARTHUR
It can’t be a dog. Its eyes are
too small. I think it must be a
kind of rat.
AMANDA
Yes! That’s it! Tommy’s drawn a
rat. Ruth, do you think Tommy’s
rat will be selected for the
gallery?
RUTH
I don’t know. Why don’t we ask
Miss Geraldine to come over and
tell us what she thinks?
CLOSE UP on TOMMY’S face - flushing.
TOMMY
It’s not finished yet.
ARTHUR
That’s right. You need to draw
the whiskers.
TOMMY
It’s not a rat.
AMANDA
And a longer tail.
TOMMY
(voice rising)
It’s not a rat!
On the other side of the room, the raised voice makes MISS
GERALDINE’S head turn.
RUTH
(whispers)
Here it comes!
The kids goading TOMMY wait expectantly.
Then TOMMY speaks.
And the calmness has returned to his voice.
TOMMY
It’s not a rat.
(beat)
It’s an elephant.
He spins the picture back to face him, and continues to

work on it.
RUTH and AMANDA exchange a slightly puzzled glance -
- but let it go, because MISS GERALDINE is now walking over

to their table...
... and the kids return to their respective works.
17A INT. MISS LUCY’S STUDY - DAY 17A
In her small study, MISS LUCY is writing at her desk.
KATHY appears in the doorway.
MISS LUCY seems unaware.
KATHY
Miss Lucy.
MISS LUCY looks up.
Then smiles.
MISS LUCY
Hello.
KATHY
Kathy. Kathy H.
MISS LUCY
Yes, of course. Kathy H. Come
in.
KATHY takes a step into MISS LUCY’S office.
MISS LUCY (CONT’D) *

What can I do for you?
KATHY
I was wondering what you said to
Tommy.
MISS LUCY doesn’t seem to follow. Perhaps having to

remember exactly who TOMMY is.
MISS LUCY
I’m sorry?
KATHY
You said something to Tommy. Out
on the playing fields. And
whatever it was, it’s had quite
an effect on him.
MISS LUCY
I see.
Bemused, but seeing the seriousness in KATHY’S face, MISS

LUCY makes an effort to be precise.

So - what was it I said? I
believe I was trying to calm him
down, because he seemed so upset.
And he explained that he was
often teased about things like
sport, and art. So I told him
that he shouldn’t get upset at
these things. The other children
are only teasing him to get a
reaction.
(beat)
And if it happens that he isn’t
particularly good at sport or
art, well - it doesn’t matter.
It’s not so important.
KATHY frowns.
KATHY
Not so important.
MISS LUCY shrugs, almost as if to shrug off the intense

gaze of the little girl in front of her.
MISS LUCY
No. Not really.
18 INT. REFECTORY - DAY 18
Lunch, in Hailsham’s refectory.
Trays contain compartments filled with extremely overcooked

food. Grey meat and faded vegetables.
The kids take the trays from the food trolleys, then take
seats at long refectory tables.
KATHY is carrying her tray with RUTH, AMANDA and LAURA.
She sees TOMMY.
As the other girls move forwards with their trays...
... KATHY hangs back.
19 INT. REFECTORY - DAY 19
TOMMY sits at a table with a few spaces around him.
We can sense he is used to eating alone.
Not least from the surprise in his face when he looks up,
and sees KATHY taking the seat opposite him.
TOMMY
Kathy.
(awkward)
Aren’t you sitting with the
girls?
KATHY looks around, as if half expecting to find the girls

either side of her.
Then she looks back at TOMMY.
KATHY
I just checked, and I’m pretty
sure I’m not sitting with the
girls. I’m sitting with you.
TOMMY smiles.
TOMMY
I wanted to say I was sorry. I
didn’t mean to hit you when -
(he breaks off)
I mean, I wouldn’t want to hit
any girl. But particularly not
you.
KATHY
Well. It was an accident, that’s
all. *
A passing guardian, MISS GERALDINE, glances at TOMMY’S *

plate.
At the collection of over-boiled carrots, not eaten as yet.
MISS GERALDINE *
Tommy. Finish those vegetables.
MISS GERALDINE moves on. *
KATHY leaves a calculated pause.
KATHY
So... you didn’t lose your temper
when they were teasing you
earlier. In the art room.
TOMMY nods seriously.
TOMMY
I’m not going to get angry like
that any more.
KATHY
Because of what Miss Lucy told
you.
TOMMY
You notice everything, don’t you,
Kath?
KATHY
I’m nosy.
TOMMY
(smiles)
You are.
AT THIS MOMENT, the seats immediately beside TOMMY and

KATHY are taken by some kids coming over with their trays.
About to reply, TOMMY seems to think the better of it -

apparently uncomfortable about their conversation being
overheard.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
Why don’t we talk about it at the
pond.
20 EXT. POND - DAY 20
At the back of Hailsham, tucked away in the grounds, is a

large pond surrounded by bulrushes and over-hanging trees.
Hailsham is reflected in the water.
It’s quiet. Feels private. *
TOMMY sits on a large flat rock, with KATHY beside him.
KATHY
She can’t actually mean that
being creative isn’t important,
can she?
TOMMY
That’s exactly what she meant.
She said some children are good
at things, and some aren’t. So
if I wasn’t creative, there was
nothing wrong with it.
KATHY
But what about the gallery? If
being creative isn’t important,
then why have a gallery at all?
TOMMY
I don’t know.
(beat)
The funny thing is, even though I
don’t understand what she’s
saying, it helps. I’ve stopped
feeling so angry about things,
because -
(shrugs)
- whatever I’m doing wrong, or
doing worse than the rest of you,
it isn’t my fault.
Beat.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
I think this shouldn’t be spread,
okay? It’s not the kind of thing
that should get around, because
Miss Lucy is a new guardian.
KATHY
Yes.
From the litter and detritus are collected at the edge of *

the pond, CUT TO - *
21 INT. THEATRE - DAY 21 *
- a scene from an anonymous film. Black and white, from

the thirties, forties or fifties. The scene is a caperish
moment of chase, or slapstick...
... which is being watched, with delight, by KATHY, TOMMY,

RUTH, ARTHUR, LAURA, and all other students in their year.
As the moment of slapstick resolves, the kids all shout:
STUDENTS
Again, again!
The scene is rewound, and begins again.
22 INT. CORRIDOR - DAY 22
We follow MISS GERALDINE down a corridor.
MISS GERALDINE is carrying a large stack of papers -

drawings and paintings by the students from the artroom.
23 INT. OUTSIDE BILLIARD ROOM - CONTINUOUS 23
MISS GERALDINE carries the artworks into the billiard room,

where we glimpse MISS EMILY and two other GUARDIANS.
One of the GUARDIANS closes the door behind MISS

GERALDINE...
... on KATHY and RUTH, who are in the corridor outside.
24 INT. HAILSHAM - CONTINUOUS 24
We now follow KATHY and RUTH, as they run through the

school.
25 INT. HAILSHAM/BACK DOOR - CONTINUOUS 25
As they run out the back door, they hold out their wrists
to swipe their metal bracelets against a featureless metal
box, attached to the wall.
The metal box gives an electronic bleep in acknowledgment.
26 EXT. HAILSHAM - CONTINUOUS 26
KATHY and RUTH continue running, heading around the side of

the building...
... then up onto a low flower-bed wall, which allows them

to peer through the window of the billiard room.
Where they can see MISS EMILY, MISS GERALDINE, and two
others GUARDIANS.
They are laying out paintings, drawing and sculptures on

tables and easels.
Through the glass, we can faintly hear MISS EMILY.
MISS EMILY
Put these two together. Yes...
perfect. I think she’ll find
this one very interesting.
RUTH
(quiet, to Kathy)
Madame is coming.
27 EXT. HAILSHAM - NIGHT 27
A constellation in the night sky above Hailsham.
28 INT. GIRLS’ BATHROOM - NIGHT 28
DELETED. *
29 INT. OUTSIDE GIRLS’ DORMITORY - CONTINUOUS 29
DELETED. *
30 INT. GIRLS’ DORMITORY - NIGHT 30
Rows of beds in the girls’ dormitory.
Beside each bed, a beside table. And on each bedside

table, a COLLECTION.
KATHY’S collection mainly consists of books, and RUTH’S

collection is model horses.
KATHY is lying in her bed, looking at the ceiling.
Thinking.
After a couple of moments, she looks to her side.
In the next bed is RUTH, whose eyes are closed.
KATHY
Ruth.
No response.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
Ruth. Are you awake?
RUTH
No. I’m asleep. And this is the
dream I’m having.
KATHY
Why do you think Madame comes and
takes our artwork? What’s it for
exactly?
RUTH’S eyes open.
RUTH
It’s for the Gallery.
KATHY
But that’s what I mean. She
comes here - what, twice a year -
and selects our best pictures and
sculptures and poems. And takes
them away.
(beat)
She must have stacks of art by
now. I asked Miss Geraldine once
how long Madame’s been coming
here, and she said for as long as
Hailsham’s existed.
KATHY rolls over, to face RUTH.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
So what is this Gallery? And why
would she have a gallery of
things done by us?
RUTH
Maybe she sells them. Outside,
out there, they sell everything.
KATHY
Maybe.
A moment of silence, as both KATHY and RUTH contemplate

these thoughts.
Then:
RUTH
She’s scared of us.
KATHY frowns, and props herself up in bed.

KATHY
Madame?
RUTH
Yes.
KATHY
That’s a strange thing to say.
RUTH shrugs.
RUTH
I used to think she was just
snooty, but now I know different. *
KATHY *
I don’t understand. How could *
Madame be scared of us? What
could we do to her?
RUTH
I don’t know. I don’t think we
could do anything. But I’ve been
remembering her last visit.
KATHY
And?
RUTH
I don’t know. Little things.
The way she looks at us.
Beat.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
She’s scared all right.
Beat.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
I bet I could prove it.
KATHY
... How?
We watch as, from a distance, a lone car approaches

Hailsham, along a ribbon of road through the surrounding
fields.
32 INT. WINDOW - DAY 32
KATHY, RUTH, AMANDA, LAURA, and the five other girls stand
in the shadows of Hailsham’s front doorway, watching the
CAR approach.
33 EXT. DRIVEWAY - DAY 33
The car pulls up on the gravel courtyard of Hailsham, and

parks.
The driver, MADAME, exits the car, then goes around to the
boot -
- which she opens.
Inside is her luggage - a small overnight bag.
She takes it out, closes the boot, then turns -
- and STARTS.
Because surrounding her, in a tight circle, are the nine

girls.
There are standing several feet away, not moving. Just

looking at MADAME.
A beat. Frozen and uncertain for MADAME.
Then she starts to walk.
And almost as soon as she does so -
- the children start to walk too.
Moving straight for her. Making her stop again in her

tracks, and hold the overnight bag to her chest.
In a slightly stiff, glazed way, the girls each murmur,

dream-like -
GIRLS
Excuse me, miss.
- as they pass her.
Then they separate, each walking in different directions...
... leaving MADAME alone.
It’s a very odd moment. Surreal. But it reveals exactly

what RUTH said it would.
MADAME’S reaction was as if she was suppressing a shudder.

A kind of dread in her eyes, looking at the children as if
they were spiders.
As she was afraid they might reach out and touch her.
Around the side of the building, the girls reconvene.
One of the girls, LAURA, looks particularly shaken and

close to tears.
RUTH
You saw it, didn’t you? In her
face. You all saw it.
AMANDA
Yes.
RUTH
There’s no doubt. Kathy.
KATHY
(confirms)
No doubt.
LAURA
If she doesn’t like us, why does
she want our artwork? Why
doesn’t she just leave us alone?
The response from the others is silence.
There seems to be no answer to these questions.
35 INT. GIRLS’ DORM - DAY 35 *
KATHY is alone, gazing at herself in a wall-length mirror. *
Over this, we start to hear the Hailsham school song.
36 INT. ASSEMBLY HALL - DAY 36
The school song leads us to the main hall, where it is

being sung by the students of Hailsham, who stand in rows
for morning assembly. There are about eighty of them, of
ages ranging from five to eighteen.
Two younger children are whispering until they are silenced

by a frown from the head guardian, MISS EMILY.
When the song has finished, MISS EMILY prepares to address

them from a lectern on a raised stage.
Behind her, the other guardians stands, and among them is

MADAME.
MISS EMILY
Good morning, students.
THE STUDENTS
Good morning, Miss Emily.
MISS EMILY
There are several points of order
today. The first is that Madame
Marie-Claude is visiting us
today, and will be examining your
works.
MISS EMILY turns to acknowledge MADAME, who nods in reply.
MISS EMILY (CONT’D) *

We will of course extend her
every curtesy, and make her feel
most welcome.
MISS EMILY pauses a moment.

Second point of order. It has
come to my attention that three
burned cigarettes were
discovered, hidden behind a pot
in the flower garden.
MISS LUCY holds up a glass jam jar, containing the *

offending cigarette butts. *

I know that on occasion students
have seen some of the caretakers
or delivery men smoking
cigarettes. But I must
emphasise, once again, that it is
much, much worse for a student of
Hailsham to smoke than anyone
else. I should not have to
explain that students of Hailsham
are special. Keeping yourselves
well, keeping yourselves healthy
inside, is of paramount
importance. Have I made myself
clear?
THE STUDENTS
Yes, Miss Emily.
MISS EMILY
Good.
(beat)
(MORE)
MISS EMILY (CONT'D)
And finally, I have a piece of
good news for all students who
have been diligent in collecting
tokens. At the end of studies
tomorrow, there will be a sale.
This piece of news creates an immediate buzz of excitement

in the students -
- quietened by MISS EMILY raising a hand.

The delivery will arrive in the
morning. And I was assured by
the van driver that the boxes
would contain...
MISS EMILY pauses deliberately, raising the STUDENTS’

expectations.
MISS EMILY extends the pause, then allows a slight smile to

creep into the corner of her mouth.

... a bumper crop.
The assembly hall erupts with the STUDENTS’ cheers.
37 INT. THEATRE - LATER 37 *
Five students appear to be rehearsing a play, watched by *

MISS LUCY. Among the students on the stage are KATHY,
TOMMY, and LAURA.
Watching from the seats are the rest of KATHY’S year,

including RUTH and AMANDA.
There are a few props on the stage. A table, trays,

plates. All other objects in the rehearsal - cash
register, milk, sugar - are mimed.
KATHY is on one side of the table, playing the roll of a

cashier, and the others are queuing for the till.
LAURA is first in line. TOMMY is behind her.
KATHY
Good morning, ma’am.
LAURA
Good morning.
KATHY
Can I help you?
LAURA
I wanted two teas. Milk in one
tea, and milk and sugar in the
other.
KATHY
Two teas. Right.
KATHY turns behind her and mimes pouring milk into two
mugs. Then she hands the non-existent mugs to LAURA.
LAURA
You forgot the sugar.
The students in the seats laugh.
KATHY rolls her eyes, and mimes adding sugar.
LAURA moves on.
TOMMY, behind LAURA, misses his cue to move forwards.
MISS LUCY prompts him.
MISS LUCY
Tommy.
TOMMY snaps to focus, steps forwards and blurts:
TOMMY
Two teas. Milk in one, and milk
and sugar in the other.
MISS LUCY
No, Tommy. I want to hear your
own order. Don’t simply repeat
the one you just heard.
TOMMY looks back MISS LUCY blankly.

What other kind of drinks do they
serve in cafes?
Pause.
TOMMY
Water?
Some of the kids in the audience laugh.
RUTH heckles from the front row.
RUTH
A drink you pay for, you oaf.
KATHY
(whispers)
Coffee.
TOMMY
(to Miss Lucy)
Coffee.
MISS LUCY
So then.
TOMMY shoots KATHY a grateful smile.
TOMMY
(to Kathy)
Two coffees. Milk in one, and
milk and sugar in the other.
As KATHY mimes the drinks:
MISS EMILY (O.S.)

Once lubrication is established,
the penis is inserted thus.
CUT TO -
38 INT. CLASSROOM - DAY 38
- a SKELETON, lying on a desk, with legs spread.
A long wooden RULER is inserted between the legs, into what

would be the vaginal opening to the hip bone cavity.
The ruler is being held by MISS EMILY.
MISS EMILY
The appropriate friction between
penis and vagina should result in
orgasm for both parties.
Watching MISS EMILY, fascinated, but not convulsed in

either amusement or embarrassment, is KATHY’S class.
MISS EMILY (CONT’D)

What constitutes appropriate
friction will vary according to
the physiology of the sexual
partners.
MISS EMILY uses her hand to raise the SKELETON’S hips.


Here, I am illustrating how - by
arching her back, or perhaps with
the aid of a pillow - the woman
can arrange herself to create the
precise kind of friction she
requires.
MISS EMILY releases the SKELETON’S hips and turns to the

class.

The various positions and
pleasures of intercourse must not
blind you, however, to its
inherent dangers. You are
already aware of sexually
transmitted diseases, which can
wreak havok on otherwise
perfectly healthy bodies.
MISS EMILY pauses a moment, distracted by a stray thought

pattern. Then:

But some dangers are more complex
and insidious. Sex affects the
emotions in ways you can never
expect. And we can’t legislate
for that which we do not expect.
Beat.

Unavoidably, such emotions remain
out of our full control.
CUT TO -
39 EXT. PLAYING FIELDS - DAY 39
- ARTHUR swinging a rounders bat, and connecting with the

ball, which has been pitched by KATHY.
The ball arcs high up into the air, towards the outfield...
... where TOMMY is fielding.
KATHY
Catch it, Tommy!
TOMMY tracks the ball, walking backwards, looking for the

catch.
As it drops down, he reaches for it.

And misses it.
The ball flies over his head, bounces as it hits the

ground, and bounces on towards the far perimeter of the
playing field...
... where it passes a wire fence, only waist high, and

comes to rest in the long grass, two or three metres
further on.
TOMMY approaches the boundary fence. He sees the ball, but

makes no attempt to reach it.
CUT TO -
- MISS LUCY, standing with the batting team. *
The batting team are watching ARTHUR’S victory lap,

cheering.
But MISS LUCY, her expression unreadable, is watching

TOMMY...
... who now turns from the ball, and starts jogging back to
the game.
40 INT. PAVILION - DAY 40
DELETED. *
41 INT. GIRLS’ CHANGING ROOM - CONTINUOUS 41 *
MISS LUCY is watching the girls getting changed from their *

whites. *
After a couple of moments, she glances out of the changing

room, where, down the corridor, she can see the FEMALE
GUARDIAN - who seems to be in conversation with a boy who
is out of our line of sight.
MISS LUCY looks back to the girls. Then, with a discretely

enforced casualness, asks:
MISS LUCY
Why didn’t Tommy get the ball?
RUTH and KATHY, who are closest to her, look up.
KATHY notices that MISS LUCY’S hands are trembling.
RUTH
Excuse me, Miss Lucy?
MISS LUCY
Why didn’t Tommy get the ball.
When it bounced over the fence.
It couldn’t have been far from
him.
The other girls have now tuned in to this exchange, and all
look at MISS LUCY, confused.
KATHY
The fence is the boundary of the
Hailsham grounds.
RUTH
Why take the risk?
MISS LUCY
... What risk?
LAURA
We don’t go outside the boundary,
Miss Lucy. It’s too dangerous.
MISS LUCY
Dangerous.
RUTH
There was once a boy who had a
big row with all his friends, and
ran off beyond the boundaries.
And they found him two days later
in the woods, tied to a tree.
AMANDA
With his hands and feet cut off.
LAURA
Dead.
MISS LUCY looks shocked. *
MISS LUCY *
And when was this supposed to *
have happened? *
LAURA *
It was before we all got here. *
AMANDA *
But only just before. *
RUTH *
And there was the girl who *
climbed over the fence by the *
front gate. *
MISS LUCY *
What happened to her? *
RUTH *
She climbed over to see what it *
was like outside. *
LAURA *
This was in the older days, when *
the guardians were much stricter. *
Before Miss Emily. *
RUTH *
And when she tried to get back, *
she wasn’t allowed. But she kept *
hanging around outside, pleading, *
and they still wouldn’t let her *
in. And then she starved out *
there, right by the gates. *
Beat. *
MISS LUCY *
Who told you these stories? *
RUTH *
Everybody knows them. *
MISS LUCY *
And how do you know they’re true? *
RUTH shrugs. *
RUTH *
Of course they’re true. *
RUTH glances to KATHY, as if for confirmation. *
KATHY is tying up her shoelaces. *
RUTH (CONT’D) *
Who’d make up stories as horrible *
as that? *
41aA INT. SHOWER ROOM - CONTINUOUS 41aA *
DELETEDDELETED *
41A EXT. FOREST - DAY 41A
DELETED. *
42 INT. ART ROOM - DAY 42 *
DELETED. *
44 INT. GIRLS’ DORMITORY - NIGHT 44
- KATHY’S face.
Reveal she’s in her bed.
RUTH and KATHY are the only girls awake.
They are moonlit.
KATHY lies on her back, gazing at the ceiling.
RUTH lies on her side, gazing at KATHY.
RUTH
Have you heard the rumour?
Beat.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
There’s a rumour going round.
Started by some of the older
kids. Something about boyfriends *
and girlfriends. Apparently they *
can get preferential treatment *
when they leave Hailsham. *
KATHY *
What sort of preferential *
treatment? *
RUTH *
I don’t know. Just that it’s *
something to do with couples. *
KATHY *
There are always stories going *
round. Like the stories about
kids who leave the boundary. It
was obvious Miss Lucy didn’t
believe that for a minute.
Beat.
RUTH
I think Laura likes Arthur.
KATHY
All the girls like Arthur, don’t
they?
RUTH
Maybe.
(beat)
I’m not sure you do.
KATHY
He’s not my type.
A loaded beat.
Then:
RUTH
Tommy’s changed.
KATHY
Changed how?
RUTH
Just changed. That’s all.
A moment of silence.
RUTH (CONT’D)
I think Laura and Arthur will be
the first in our year to have
sex, because if Arthur wanted to,
Laura wouldn’t stop him.
KATHY
I’m sure you’re right.
RUTH
Right about Laura wouldn’t stop
him, or right about them being
the first to have sex?
KATHY rolls over on her side, and closes her eyes.
KATHY
Both, I’m sure.
RUTH stays in the same position, eyes remaining open,

watching KATHY.
44A EXT. FOREST - DAY 44A *
KATHY is tied to a tree. Her hands and feet have been cut *
off. *
CUT TO - *
44B INT. GIRLS’ DORMITORY - NIGHT 44B *
KATHY’S eyes flick open. Waking from her dream. *

44C EXT. OUTSIDE GIRLS’ DORMITORY - MORNING 44C *
In the corridor outside the girl’s dormitory, a long table *

holds a line of milk-filled glasses. *
Beside each glass is a small pill cup. *
A GUARDIAN is moving down the table, putting three pills in *

each cup. *
Behind, a line of GIRLS wait to take their morning cocktail *

of medication. *
45 EXT. HAILSHAM - MORNING 45
By the front entrance, a delivery truck has pulled up on

the gravel driveway.
From the back, two DELIVERY MEN in overalls are unloading

boxes.
Various kids are watching them, intensely curious, but

keeping an appropriate distance.
Among the kids are KATHY, RUTH and TOMMY.
One of the younger kids, a GIRL about eight or nine years

old, calls to one of the DELIVERY MEN:
GIRL
Is it really a bumper crop?
One of the DELIVERY MEN looks round. Sees the kids faces.
DELIVERY MAN
I’d say so, sweetheart. A bumper
crop.
46 INT. HAILSHAM - DAY 46
A school bell is ringing.
Over the ringing, we can hear exited shouts, and laughter.
47 INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS 47
We pick up KATHY running down a corridor in Hailsham -
- being tugged along by RUTH’S hand.
And we see that they are at the head of a large group of

children, who are also running...
... and being joined by other children, streaming out of

classrooms and side corridors.
TOMMY is ahead of them.
We lose KATHY and RUTH and TOMMY in the mass of kids...
... and track the mass of children through the school.
Out of the CORRIDOR... *
Up the STAIRS... *
Along another CORRIDOR... *
Until they explode into the -
48 INT. SALE ROOM - CONTINUOUS 48 *
- SALE ROOM, where the SALE is now underway. *
The refectory tables double as stalls, with the sale items

laid out along them.
The oldest children work as monitors, standing behind the

tables, exchanging tokens for goods, and keeping their
highly excited young customers under control.
We TRACK ALONG one refectory table, seeing the excited

faces and grabbing hands of the kids on the other side, as
they pick the sale items up, searching for the best stuff
at the best prices.
And we finally see the sale items themselves -
- which reveal themselves to be the kind of things one

might find in a junk shop, or a car-boot sale.
Nothing new, nothing complete. Toys out of the their

boxes. Watches with no clasp on the strap. The top half
of a track-suit. Football boots without laces.
Among the kids, we see the faces of children we have

already met, including RUTH, TOMMY, ARTHUR, LAURA, and
AMANDA.
We pick up TOMMY, who has found something, but we can’t see

what it is.
He pays a GUARDIAN in tokens.
To the side, another GUARDIAN notes down on a clipboard

what the kids are purchasing.
49 INT. SALE ROOM - CONTINUOUS 49 *
We pick up KATHY at the back of the throng, gazing at MISS

LUCY.
There is a frozen quality to MISS LUCY’S expression.
MISS LUCY is seeing what we are seeing - that the objects

of the children’s enthusiasm are worthless.
In front of MISS LUCY, we catch two of the children having

a slightly giddy exchange. ARTHUR has found a book on
ACTING TECHNIQUES OF THE STAGE AND SCREEN
ARTHUR
Acting Techniques of the Stage
and Screen. It’s all the tricks
of the trade.
LAURA
It’s perfect! Everyone knows
you’re a natural for acting.
ARTHUR
If I was really serious about it,
I’d have to go to America to have
the best chance.
KATHY watches MISS LUCY for a moment. Hearing the

conversation.
Then turns, and starts moving away from the tables, not
towards them.
49A INT. CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS 49A *
KATHY sits in the corridor outside the sale room, where *

chairs have been stacked to make room. *
She chooses one, and sits. *
A moment.
Then:
TOMMY
Hey.
KATHY turns, and sees TOMMY beside her.
TOMMY (CONT’D)
Aren’t you buying? If you’ve
already spent all your tokens,
you can have some of mine...
KATHY
I have tokens.
(beat)
I’ll wait until the rush has died
down a bit. I’m sure something
good will be left.
Beat.
TOMMY
What’s the matter, Kath? Ever
since our conversation the other
day, you’ve been a bit out of
sorts.
KATHY considers this a moment.
And her gaze catches sight of MISS LUCY talking to MISS

GERALDINE on the other side of the hall.
A short silence.
TOMMY (CONT’D)
Well anyway. It doesn’t matter
if you can’t find anything in the
sale -
TOMMY reaches into his pocket.
TOMMY (CONT’D)
- because I already found
something for you.
He produces a CASSETTE TAPE.
On the cover, it reads: Songs After Dark, by Judy

Bridgewater. The cover shows a woman, presumably the
singer, wearing an off-the-shoulder purple satin dress.
There are palm trees behind her, and a black waiter in a
white tuxedo is bringing her a drink.
A cigarette burns in her hand.
CUT TO -
- KATHY’S response.
Genuine surprise and delight.
KATHY
A music tape?
TOMMY
I don’t know much about it. If
it’s much good or anything.
KATHY leans forwards and gives TOMMY a kiss on the cheek.

KATHY
Thank you!
From the expression on TOMMY’S face, this was clearly worth

the tokens.
50 INT. GIRLS’ DORMITORY - SUNSET 50
KATHY is alone in the girls’ dormitory.
Outside the window, the light is a deep yellow from sunset,

and it bathes the room.
Dust motes hang in light shafts.
KATHY has the tape that TOMMY gave her, and she is
inserting into a CASSETTE PLAYER that the girls in that
room share.
She presses PLAY -
- and a song starts.
It’s a slow ballad. The singer, Judy Bridgewater, is

American.
KATHY is immediately transported by the sound.
She reacts as if it is the saddest, most beautiful song she

has ever heard.
As the song moves into its second verse, KATHY picks up a

small pillow from one of the beds, and holds it close to
her chest, as she starts to sway in time to the music.
By the time the second chorus comes around, she has learned
the melody, and picked up the repeating lyric of the
chorus: Baby, never let me go.
Her eyes close, and she starts to mouth these words...
... until the short song is over.
As the noise from the cassette player returns to the hiss

between music tracks, KATHY opens her eyes, as if waking
from a dream -
- to find herself looking at MADAME, framed in the doorway

of the dormitory.
Both KATHY and MADAME are frozen in the act of seeing each
other.
But whereas KATHY’S expression is simple surprise, MADAME

has tears pouring down her face.
In fact, she is sobbing.
A beat later, MADAME turns, quickly, and leaves.
And her hurried footsteps disappear down the corridor.
51 EXT. HAILSHAM - DAY, RAIN 51
The next day.
Rain falls from a slate sky.
52 EXT. POND - CONTINUOUS 52
A low mist of exploding water droplets lies over the pond

surface.
53 EXT. WINDOW - CONTINUOUS 53
MISS LUCY looks out of a half open window at the rain.
54 INT. CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS 54
Rain blows through the half open window.
It collects on the interior windowsill, and drips onto the

floor.
Behind MISS LUCY, a map of the UK is pulled down over the *

blackboard.
It shudders in the wind.
REVEAL MISS LUCY’S class. KATHY, RUTH, TOMMY, ARTHUR,

LAURA, AMANDA, and the others of that year. All seated at
their desks.
There is an odd electricity in the air. The children don’t

know what MISS LUCY is about to say. But they sense it is
seismic. So they sit, and wait.
Until she speaks.
MISS LUCY
I don’t think I can keep silent
anymore. If no one else will
talk to you, I will.
The wind from the open window blows a couple of papers off
her desk.
As they drift to the floor, TOMMY, in the front row, makes

a move to pick them up.
MISS LUCY (CONT’D)

No, Tommy - please. I just want
you all to listen.
TOMMY slides back into his seat.

The problem is that you have been
told, and not told. That is what
I’ve seen while I’ve been here.
You have been told, but none of
you really understand. So I’ve
decided I’ll talk to you in a way
that you will understand.
Beat.

Do you know what happens to
children when they grow up?
Silence.

No - you don’t. Because nobody
knows.
On ARTHUR.

They might grow up to become
actors, and move to America. Or
they might work in supermarkets,
or teach in schools. They might
become sportsmen, or bus
conductors, or racing car
drivers. They might do almost
anything.
Beat.

But with you, we do know. None
of you will go to America. None
of you will work in supermarkets.
None of you will do anything,
except live out the life that has
already been set out for you.
Beat.

You will become adults, but only
briefly. Before you are old,
before you are even middle-aged,
you will start to donate your
vital organs.
(MORE)
That’s what you were created to
do. And some time around your
third or fourth donation, your
short life will be complete.
MISS LUCY turns back to the window.

You have to know who you are, and
what you are. It’s the only way
you’ll lead decent lives.
End on the reaction of the kids.
Stunned. Not certain what to say, or do. Except remain

locked to their seats, and wait for the moment to go away.
Apart from TOMMY, who now reaches down, picks up the fallen *
papers, and hands them to MISS LUCY. *
CUT TO -
- the view across the grounds to the school.
KATHY (V.O.)
It surprises me to think that
Miss Lucy was only actually with
us at Hailsham for a few weeks.
Not really very long at all.
Beat.
KATHY (V.O.) (CONT’D) *

Yet by the time she left,
everything was different somehow.
56 INT. ASSEMBLY HALL - DAY 56
The Hailsham students stand in the assembly hall.
RUTH and TOMMY are standing beside each other.
KATHY is one row back.
MISS EMILY addresses the students from the lectern.
MISS EMILY
I have only one announcement this
morning, which is to say that
Miss Lucy, who was guardian to
the fourth year students, is no
longer working at Hailsham.
A shocked ripple response from the ranks of the standing

children.
Noticeably from TOMMY.

A replacement will be found for
her, but in the meantime her
classes will be divided between
Miss Geraldine and myself.
MISS EMILY pauses.

It is hard, is it not -
Abruptly, MISS EMILY breaks off.
In the assembly hall, the silence feels like a non-

sequitur.
MISS EMILY drifts inside a private thought pattern.
Children and guardians wait for her to continue. Which,

after a few moments, she does. With a heat injected into
her voice. Anger rising.

It is hard, is it not, to
continue in the face of
deliberate subversion. There are
those who would seek to thwart
us. This is clear. It is
manifestly -
Another abrupt stop.
A couple of GUARDIANS exchange a glance.

- clear.
MISS EMILY closes her eyes. Talks now to an interior

voice, losing track of the faces before her.

And we are aware that the tide is
not with forward thinking. It
never is. No - the tide is with
the entrenched mindset. The
unexamined morality of -
Beat.

Yes.
Beat.

So we are fully aware. Are we
not.
Beat.

And I will not be coerced.
Silence.
Which now extends.
As it does so, CUT TO -
- a girl’s hand, tentatively slipping into a boy’s hand.
After a moment’s hesitation, the boy’s fingers close around

the girl’s.
Reveal it is RUTH and TOMMY, and we are seeing from KATHY’S

POV.
CUT BACK TO -
- MISS EMILY’S eyes, as they flick open.
Relocating her. Reminding her of the audience.

(loud)
I will not be coerced!
The barked words echo faintly in the hall.

(louder)
I will not be coerced. No! And
neither will Hailsham!
Sensing a cue, the collected children and guardians all

break into applause.
All except KATHY.
She is reverberating with what she has just seen pass

between RUTH and TOMMY.
57 EXT. PATH - DAY 57
KATHY walks down a path through trees at the back of

Hailsham, towards -
58 EXT. POND - CONTINUOUS 58
- the pond.
Across the water is the large flat rock.
On which RUTH and TOMMY are sitting.
Chatting. Unaware of KATHY’S presence on the far side of

the pond.
KATHY (V.O.)
I didn’t understand why, after
all her teasing, Ruth would
decide that Tommy was the boy she
liked most of all.
KATHY watches as RUTH turns TOMMY’S face towards hers.

They say girls are always mean to
the boys they like. So maybe
Ruth had liked him all along.
KATHY stops, as -
- RUTH leans forwards to kiss TOMMY.
Back to KATHY’S face, frozen.

Maybe I should have teased him
too.
59 INT. GIRLS’ DORMITORY - DAY 59
KATHY’S collection sits on her bedside table.
The small row of books.
A fountain pen.
And the JUDY BRIDGEWATER cassette.
She puts another book into her collection. *
59A INT. GIRLS’ DORMITORY - DAY 59A *
The collection grows. *
Reveal KATHY, now in her late teens, packing a bag. *

The view across the pond.
The school building is reflected in the water.
Then splintered into ripples.
On this splintered image -
FADE TO BLACK.
Title:
PART 2: THE COTTAGES
FADE UP TO -
61 INT. MINIBUS - DAY 61
A minibus drives through flat countryside.
The bus is being driven by a man in his early sixties -

KEFFERS.
In the back are six Hailsham students, now aged eighteen.
Among them, KATHY, RUTH and TOMMY.
KATHY and TOMMY we have seen before in adult incarnation,

at the start of the film. RUTH we recognise by the colour
of her hair...
... and by the way her hand is enmeshed in TOMMY’S.
All are glazed by the length of the journey.
Gazing out of the window, watching the largely featureless

landscape slide by.
KATHY (V.O.)
We left Hailsham at eighteen.
62 EXT. DIRT ROAD - DAY 62
The minibus drives up a long dirt road.

KATHY (V.O.)
My year were scattered to
different locations, but Tommy,
Ruth and I were relocated
together, to a collection of
buildings that had once been a
working farm.
At the far end of the dirt road, a cluster of farm

buildings can be seen.

We called them the Cottages.
63 EXT. THE COTTAGES - DAY 63
A small collection of farm buildings, with a central house,

are nestled in remote countryside.
But it is not picturesque. It is desolate. Old farm

machinery lies where it was last used. A couple of
chickens run through the muddy space between the buildings.
KATHY (V.O.)
At the time, we thought the
Cottages were just a staging post
before the donation centers.
A MINIBUS pulls up outside, and the students get out, each

carrying a rucksack and a suitcase.
They all look slightly taken aback by what they see.
KEFFERS directs them unceremoniously to the main house.

But looking back, I can see they
were actually a training ground
of sorts. During our time there, *
some of us would be expected to
volunteer as carers.
As the students walk to the house, they have to pick their

way across the mud. Their shoes are unsuitable. Their
clothing looks insufficient for the cold.
Standing in the doorway of the main house is a girl.

Slightly older. She wears a heavy jumper and Wellington *
boots. This is CHRISSIE.
CHRISSIE watches them blankly as they approach.


The Cottages were also our first
contact with those who had not
had the privilege of growing up
in Hailsham.
FADE IN the sound of a TV sitcom LAUGHTER TRACK.
CUT TO -
64 INT. LIVING ROOM - EARLY EVENING 64
In the living room are RUTH and TOMMY. They are sitting on
a sofa. Ruth is leaning back into TOMMY’S arms.
At the other end of the sofa is KATHY.
On another sofa is CHRISSIE.
Entering the room is RODNEY, CHRISSIE’S boyfriend.
As he walks behind CHRISSIE, he gives her shoulder a little

squeeze. Then sits beside her, and she slips her arm into
his. As a gesture, it is clingy. As a rule, whenever
RODNEY and CHRISSIE are near each other, they hold each
other in such a way.
All of them have slightly glazed expressions -
- because they are watching the TV, which is showing a

generic American sitcom, circa early nineties.
In the background, other inhabitants of the Cottages come

and go. On the floor are empty plates of food, presumably
from a dinner eaten in front of the television.
CLOSE UP on the TV screen -
- where a group of attractive young Americans are sitting

around in a New York apartment.
One of the HANDSOME BOYS shakes his head at one of the

PRETTY GIRLS.
HANDSOME BOY
Hey Jen, what’s this I keep
hearing about you and Ricky?
PRETTY GIRL #1
Ricky? I don’t know what you’re
talking about.
PRETTY GIRL #2
Oh - can help you out there.
He’s talking about blue eyes,
blonde hair, cute dimples when he
smiles, and biceps that can crack
walnuts.
HANDSOME boy winces.
HANDSOME BOY
Ouch.
PRETTY GIRL #1
Oh that Ricky.
HANDSOME BOY
Jennifer, get real. I saw you
with him.
PRETTY GIRL #2
Jen and Ricky, sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
PRETTY GIRL #1 looks indignant, and rolls her eyes.
PRETTY GIRL #1
That is so not true!
(beat)
We weren’t in a tree.
The laughter track kicks in again.
65 INT. TOMMY’S ROOM - NIGHT 65
RUTH and TOMMY are having sex.
RUTH is being slightly noisy, and the movement of the bed

is bumping against the wall.
66 INT. KATHY’S ROOM - NIGHT 66
Next door, KATHY lies awake, reading, hearing them.
We see that on her bedside table, she has rearranged her

collection from Hailsham - including the Judy Bridgewater
tape.
To block out the noise of RUTH and TOMMY, KATHY puts

walkman headphones over her ears.
67 EXT. COTTAGES - MORNING 67
Daybreak over the fields around the Cottages.

68 EXT. COTTAGES - CONTINUOUS 68
KEFFERS pulls up in his minibus outside the main house.
He gets out, and picks up a box of groceries from the

passenger seat.
As he carries the box across the muddy yard to the main

house, he slips.
KEFFERS breaks his fall by landing on one knee, and he

manages to keep the box of groceries upright.
But when he rises, his leg is caked with mud. He looks

immensely pissed off.
KATHY is standing in the doorway of the main house to take

the box.
KATHY
Thank you, Mr Keffers.
KEFFERS hands her the box and starts walking back across
the yard without saying a word.
69 INT. KITCHEN - DAY 69
The same group of people that were watching TV - KATHY,

RUTH, TOMMY, RODNEY and CHRISSIE - are in the kitchen
fixing breakfast.
CHRISSIE and RUTH are cooking up some scrambled eggs, and

the others are sitting at the table.
Also at the table are two other young people. One reads a
book, and the other eats cereal while reading the back of
the cereal packet.
KATHY is eating cereal too, and has an open book in front

of her...
... but is tuned-in to RUTH and CHRISSIE’S conversation.
RUTH
I’m not even saying I’ll apply to
be a carer. Just several people
have told me I’d be good at it.
But then Laura went around
telling people that I had been
saying I was the most likely to
get selected.
CHRISSIE rolls her eyes.

CHRISSIE
That is so not true.
RUTH
(echoes, in agreement)
So not true.
KATHY, subtly, reacts.
RUTH brings over a plate of scrambled eggs and puts them in

front of TOMMY.
As she does so, she gives his shoulder a little squeeze.
70 INT. KITCHEN - LATER 70
The kitchen is now empty apart from KATHY and RUTH, who
stand at the sink, washing up.
While KATHY washes, RUTH dries.
For a while, they do this in silence.
Then KATHY speaks.
KATHY
Ruth, I’ve been meaning to ask
you. Why do you do that thing -
squeezing Tommy’s shoulder
whenever you pass him?
RUTH looks slightly confused.
RUTH
I’m allowed to touch Tommy,
aren’t I?
KATHY
It’s the way you’re touching him.
You know what I’m talking about.
The way you squeeze his shoulder.
(beat)
It’s copied from that television
show.
RUTH
That’s -
KATHY
(cuts in)
And please don’t tell me ‘that’s
so not true.’
RUTH shuts her mouth.

KATHY (CONT’D)
All that behaviour: it’s not what
people do, out there, in real
life, if that’s what you were
thinking.
Hold on RUTH’S face. She looks angry - but unsure how to

fight back.
So she shrugs.
RUTH
So what? It’s no big deal. A
lot of us do it.
KATHY
What you mean is, Chrissie and
Rod do it.
And now the anger on RUTH’S face becomes, for a flashed

moment, triumph.
Which she quickly shifts into concern.
RUTH
Oh, Kathy. So that’s what this
is about. It must be awful for
you, surrounded by all these
couples.
KATHY
(hotly)
I never said that. I’m just
saying it’s daft: you copy what
they do, and they copy the TV
show.
RUTH
But I’m right, aren’t I? And you
don’t like the fact that Tommy
and I are friends with Chrissie
and Rod. Whereas you hardly talk
to anyone.
KATHY
No, you’re not right.
RUTH raises her eyebrows.
RUTH
(sarcastic)
‘So’ not right?
RUTH puts her drying cloth down, and walks out of the
kitchen.
Leaving KATHY alone.

71 EXT. FIELD - DAY 71
In a field adjacent to the farm buildings, a car is driving

circles.
Through the windscreen, we can see CHRISSIE behind the

wheel.
RODNEY is beside her.
The car stalls as CHRISSIE grinds the gears viciously.

Then it stops.
CHRISSIE restarts the engine, puts the car in gear -
- and almost immediately lurches, and stalls again.
CHRISSIE bursts into tears.
Although the intensity of her reaction might simply be her

frustration at learning to drive, it feels somehow more
than that.
72 EXT. COTTAGES - DAY 72
KATHY is standing at the rear of the main farmhouse,

holding a full rubbish-sack.
She watches the motionless car in the field for a couple of

moments.
It doesn’t restart.
Then KATHY continues to the bins.
When she opens the lid to put the rubbish-sack inside, she
sees, sitting on top of the bag already inside...
... a slightly crumpled PORNOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE.
KATHY reacts.
Then looks around, to see if anyone is near, or can see

her.
73 INT. BARN - DAY 73
Daylight filters into what was once an old barn, and is now
used as a general storage area.
Judging by the dust and cobwebs, the space doesn’t get used
much.
KATHY enters, with the magazine.

She takes a seat...
... and starts to flick through the pictures.
We watch KATHY scan the girls. She pauses on each image

for the same amount of time, regardless of the pose of size
of the photo. Her focus is their faces.
KATHY is absorbed in what she is doing.
And doesn’t notice at first that someone else has entered

the barn, and is watching her.
But she senses the presence.
She tenses, and looks up.
And sees TOMMY.
TOMMY smiles, a little sheepishly.
TOMMY
Hello, Kath.
KATHY
Hi Tommy.
(beat)
Don’t just hover in the doorway.
Come in. Join the fun.
TOMMY walks over to where KATHY sits.
TOMMY
I didn’t know you liked that sort
of stuff.
KATHY
Girls are allowed to look too,
aren’t we?
Beat.
KATHY starts flicking through the pages again.
TOMMY
I wasn’t trying to spy on you.
KATHY
You’re welcome to take them after
I’ve finished.
TOMMY gives a short laugh.
TOMMY
I expect I’ve seen them all
already.
A beat.
KATHY looks up at TOMMY again -
- and finds him returning her gaze with a serious

expression.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
Kath - what are you looking for?
KATHY
What do you mean? I’m just
looking at dirty pictures.
TOMMY
Just for kicks.
KATHY
I suppose you could say that.
TOMMY sits beside KATHY.
TOMMY
Kath, you don’t -
(breaks off)
If it’s for kicks, you don’t do
it like that. You have to look
at the pictures more carefully.
Nothing really happens if you go
that fast.
KATHY
How do you know what works for
girls?
TOMMY
Kath. You aren’t looking for
kicks.
A beat.
KATHY stands abruptly, and drops the magazine into TOMMY’S

hands.
KATHY
Here. Give it to Ruth. See if
they do anything for her.
She exits.
TOMMY watches her go.
74 INT. KATHY’S ROOM - DAY 74
KATHY is reading on her bed.

RUTH enters.
RUTH
Hi.
KATHY
Hi.
RUTH sits on the bed.
RUTH
I suppose you’ve heard what
Chrissie and Rod have been
saying.
KATHY puts her book down, bristling slightly - thinking

that this conversation will relate to their earlier
exchange, and that in some way RUTH is going to rub KATHY’S
nose in her friendship with the older couple.
KATHY
No. I haven’t.
RUTH
They’re probably just having me
on. Their idea of a joke.
Forget I mentioned it.
KATHY
You obviously want to tell me.
Beat.
RUTH
You know that Rod and Chrissie
have been thinking of applying to
be carers. So they’ve been
learning to drive.
KATHY
Yes.
RUTH
Well - last weekend, Rod and
Chrissie went for a drive
together, and they went up to a
town on the Norfolk coast.
(beat)
And they think they saw this
person.
KATHY
What person?
RUTH
A lady. Working in an open-plan
office. And...
RUTH glances at KATHY, and suddenly KATHY sees how

vulnerable and anxious RUTH looks.
KATHY sits up, concerned, their earlier spat forgotten.
KATHY
What is it, Ruth?
RUTH
I’m sure it’s not true. Or a
mistake. But - they thought this
person was a ‘possible’.
(beat)
For me.
KATHY looks genuinely amazed.
KATHY
They found your original?
RUTH
They aren’t sure, obviously. But
Rodney said the resemblance was
really striking.
KATHY sits beside RUTH on the bed.
KATHY
My God, Ruth.
RUTH
I know.
KATHY
What are you going to do?
RUTH
Rod and Chrissie want to drive me
back up there, so I can see for
myself. Tommy will come, but...
I feel nervous...
KATHY
Do you want me to come too?
This is clearly what RUTH was hoping for.
KATHY takes RUTH’S hand.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
Ruth, of course.
75 EXT. ROAD - DAY 75
A slightly battered estate car drives along an empty

Norfolk A-road.
76 INT. CAR - CONTINUOUS 76
RODNEY is driving, with CHRISSIE in the passenger seat.
KATHY, TOMMY and RUTH are in the back.
RODNEY
So - exactly how much experience
have you guys had with the
outside?
RUTH
Quite a lot.
TOMMY
No we haven’t!
RUTH
We did a lot of role-playing
exercises in Hailsham.
TOMMY
They don’t count.
RODNEY and CHRISSIE exchange a glance.
RODNEY
Okay. Well, don’t feel scared.
There’s really nothing to it.
RUTH
We aren’t scared.
RODNEY
Good.
CUT TO -
77 INT. CAFE - DAY 77
KATHY, RUTH, TOMMY, RODNEY and CHRISSIE all sit around a

table in a small seaside cafe for lunch, looking at a menu.
A WAITRESS is taking their order.
As she waits for them to make up their minds, we see the

WAITRESS reacts slightly to the sight of the bracelets.
Not unlike MADAME, but perhaps better repressed. A frozen
quality in her gaze that betrays the inward shudder.
RODNEY
I’ll get sausage, egg, and chips.
The WAITRESS nods and turns to TOMMY - who looks slightly

panicked, as if confronted with an elaborate menu at an
intimidating French restaurant. So he defaults to RODNEY’S
order.
TOMMY
Sausage, egg, and chips, please. *
RUTH *
Yes. Sausage, egg, and chips.
KATHY *
Sausage, egg, and chips for me
too. *
CHRISSIE laughs.
CHRISSIE
I suppose I’d better get the
same.
WAITRESS
Right. Five sausage, egg and
chips. Drinks?
A beat.
Then KATHY, RUTH and TOMMY all look to RODNEY.
RODNEY
Five cokes, please.
78 INT. CAFE - LATER 78
The five of them eat their lunch.
The cokes are circa 1970s bottles of cheap Corona Cola.
TOMMY seems distracted by the sight of the sea and the

shore line, just outside the window.
They are eating in silence.
Then CHRISSIE shoots a glance at RODNEY, who nods, almost

imperceptibly.
KATHY sees it.
CHRISSIE
You know, there’s something I’ve
been wanting to talk to you lot
about. The problem is that back
there, at the Cottages, it’s
impossible. Someone is always
listening in.
Something about CHRISSIE’S tone feels a little over-casual.

Again, KATHY notices this - and also the way RODNEY has
leaned forwards, and is now watching RUTH closely.
CHRISSIE (CONT’D) *
So - it was just something we had
heard about Hailsham students.
Someone was saying that some
Hailsham students, in the past,
had managed to get a deferral.
Apparently, those Hailsham
students could have their first
donation put back by three, or
even four years.
(beat)
As long as they qualified.
CHRISSIE pauses, and checks the faces of KATHY, TOMMY and

RUTH, for any clue that they know what she is talking
about.
RODNEY
If there was a boy and a girl,
and they were in love with each
other - really, properly in love,
and you could prove it - then you
would be given a few years
together, before you began your
donations.
TOMMY is frowning. Clearly, this story is news to him.
TOMMY
Where did you hear about this?
RODNEY
When we were at White Mansion.
CHRISSIE
People there used to go on about
this Hailsham couple. And when
the guy was only a few weeks from
donation, he just went to see
someone. He applied. And
everything got sorted out.
RODNEY
They got three years straight.
Three years together, just to
themselves. Because they could
prove they were properly in love.
Beat.
CHRISSIE
I suppose -
CHRISSIE can no longer maintain the enforced casualness of

her voice.
CHRISSIE (CONT’D) *
- you lot would know about that.
Being from Hailsham. You’d know
the rules about that sort of
thing.
RODNEY
Who is it you go to? Who would
you talk to if you wanted to
apply?
Silence.
Until it is broken by TOMMY.
TOMMY
To be honest, I don’t know what
you’re talking about.
A flash of anger in RODNEY’S face.
RODNEY
Oh, come on. Do you expect us to
believe that? Everyone knows
Hailsham is special. So what is
it? Why keep all these things to
yourself?
Another silence.
Then KATHY says, delicately:
KATHY
There were lots of stories in
Hailsham. I don’t think many of
them turned out to be true.
79 EXT. SEAFRONT CAFE - DAY 79
DELETED *
80 EXT. SHORELINE - DAY 80
Waves lap on a shingle beach.
FADE TO -
81 EXT. STREET - DAY 81
DELETED *
82 EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS 82
... and RODNEY isn’t very sure where he’s going.
He turns back to them, talking to no one in particular.
RODNEY
I probably won’t be able to find
this office again. In fact, I
can’t even be sure this is the
right town.
RUTH is looking quietly desperate.
RUTH
Please do try to remember, Rod.
RODNEY
I’m doing my best. I’m just
saying: none of this is looking
very familiar.
KATHY walks up to RODNEY and speaks quietly but firmly to

him.
KATHY
Rod - I hope you didn’t make up
this possible for Ruth, just to
create the opportunity to ask us
about Hailsham.
RODNEY
I wasn’t making it up.
KATHY
Then I equally hope you are not
failing to find the office as a
punishment for us not knowing
about this deferral scheme.
RODNEY
... Of course I’m not.
KATHY
Then find the office. Now.
RODNEY nods, clearly a little taken aback by KATHY’S tone.
RODNEY
It may have been down here.
82A EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS 82A *
KATHY, TOMMY, RUTH, and CHRISSIE are walking down a street *

in a seaside down, following RODNEY. *
83 EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS 83
On RODNEY’S FACE.
RODNEY
... Yes.
He turns to the others.
RODNEY (CONT’D) *
Yes. That’s it.
The five of them are looking towards an office building,

over the road.
The office is glass-fronted, and through the window we can

see a large, open-plan room, with a dozen desks arranged in
irregular L-patterns.
Some of the OFFICE WORKERS are moving between the desks,

chatting. Others have pulled their swivel chairs together,
and are drinking coffee or eating sandwiches.
The sight of these workers - the sight of these normal

lives, unfolding behind the glass - transfixes the five
young adults.
KATHY
... Do you think it’s their lunch
break?
TOMMY
It must be...
With KATHY, RUTH, TOMMY, RODNEY and CHRISSIE, we watch the

OFFICE WORKERS for a while.
The way their mouths move. Smiling, talking.
The way their eyebrows raise, or the way they shake they
heads.
The way they loosen their ties, or roll up their shirt

sleeves.
They way they drink their coffee.
We are broken out of the moment by RUTH.
RUTH
(quiet)
Oh God. I think I see her.
We see what RUTH sees.

A WOMAN, about thirty years older than RUTH, in her late

forties.
And there is a resemblance there. Facially, and in the way

she has tied her hair...
... but the resemblance is not striking.
RODNEY
Yes. That’s her.
But it isn’t. This woman is not RUTH’S genetic match, with

thirty years of age on her. And KATHY knows it.
The five continue watching the WOMAN for several moments...
... then one of the other OFFICE WORKERS, a MAN, notices

the five young adults across the road, all staring in at
them.
The MAN nudges the WOMAN beside him, and gives a slightly
uncertain wave.
This gesture breaks the spell over KATHY, RUTH, TOMMY,

RODNEY and CHRISSIE...
... and as one, they all turn and start to walk away.
83A EXT. SEAFRONT CARPARK - DAY 83A
RODNEY and CHRISSIE sit in the car.
84 EXT. PIER - CONTINUOUS 84
At the end of a pier, in sight of the carpark, are KATHY,

RUTH and TOMMY.
RUTH
It wasn’t her.
(beat)
Or - I’m not her.
KATHY
... No. You aren’t.
TOMMY
But it was close, wasn’t it? I
mean, you could see why Rod and
Chrissie thought she might have
been a possible.
RUTH
Oh shut up, Tommy. It wasn’t
close. It wasn’t close at all.
An awkward beat.
Then RUTH continues - cold anger growing in her voice.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
And I knew it wouldn’t be her
before we even got there. It was
never going to be her. They
never, ever model us from people
like that woman.
KATHY
Ruth - don’t -
But RUTH isn’t going to stop now.
RUTH
We all know it. We just never
say it. We’re modelled from
trash. Junkies, prostitutes,
winos, tramps. Convicts, maybe,
so long as they aren’t psychos.
RUTH starts to walk back down the pier to the car.
Then stops.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
If you want to look for
possibles, if you want to do it
properly, then look in the
gutter. That’s where we come
from.
RUTH leaves TOMMY and KATHY alone.
84A EXT. PIER - SUNSET 84A
At the end of the pier, KATHY is gazing out to sea.
KATHY
We should go back.
TOMMY doesn’t reply.
He is watching KATHY. The light on her face. The way the

wind pulls at her hair.
85 INT. CAR - EVENING 85
The sun is going down as they drive through Norfolk, back

towards the Cottages.
86 EXT. COTTAGES - NIGHT 86
The car pulls up at the cottages.
87 INT. COTTAGES - NIGHT 87
In the hallway of the main house, just past the coat rack,
is a featureless metal box, attached to the wall, just like
the one in Hailsham.
The front door opens, and RUTH walks straight in.
As she passes the metal box, she swipes it with her

bracelet.
TOMMY and KATHY follow behind.
88 INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT 88
KATHY is cooking bacon over the stove.
A couple of other faces from the Cottages are sat at the

kitchen table, eating their dinner.
Coming from the bedroom, we hear the sound of raised *

voices.
An argument. Say: *
RUTH (O.S.) *
I don’t know why you’d say *
something like that. Do you *
actually want me to get angry? *
TOMMY (O.S.) *
Of course I don’t. *
RUTH (O.S.) *
Then what do you want? If you *
don’t want to make me angry, if *
you don’t want me to be upset, *
why would you say something so *
completely stupid? *
We can’t fully make out the words, but we can recognise the *
voices as RUTH and TOMMY. It sounds as if RUTH is doing
most of the shouting.
People around the dining table look round at the noise,

then exchange glances, then go back to whatever they were
doing.
KATHY slides the BACON out of the frying pan onto two
slices of white bread, already buttered, then pushes the
two slices together.
89 INT. STAIRS - NIGHT 89
KATHY climbs the stairs, carrying her bacon sandwich up to

her room.
She can hear the argument more clearly here, because the
living room door is open.
RUTH (O.S.)
(angry)
And a little back-up would be
appreciated. A little support.
How do you think it looks to
everyone else?
TOMMY (O.S.)
(calmer)
It’s just not like that, Ruth.
RUTH (O.S.)
So what is it like, Tommy? Spell
it all out for me.
90 INT. FRONT HALL - EARLY MORNING 90
KATHY sits in the front hall of the Cottages, pulling on a

pair of Wellington boots.
She then stands, and opens the front door.
It’s a beautiful morning outside. The sun is just coming

up.
TOMMY
Where are you going?
KATHY turns and sees TOMMY, through the open kitchen

doorway.
He’s at the dining table, on which is spread out a sheet of

paper. He is at the early stages of a large drawing.
KATHY
I thought I’d go for a walk.
TOMMY
... Does that mean you want to be
alone? Or can I come too?
91 INT. TOMMY’S ROOM - CONTINUOUS 91
RUTH stands at the window of TOMMY’S room, peering out of a

gap in the curtains...
... watching TOMMY and KATHY walking away from the

Cottages.
92 EXT. COTTAGES/GREENHOUSE - CONTINUOUS 92
KATHY and TOMMY walk through a large greenhouse attached to

the cottage complex.
When TOMMY speaks, his words are deliberate. Pre-prepared.

This is a conversation he has internally rehearsed before
now.
TOMMY
Chrissie and Rod are pretty
obsessed with this rumour, aren’t
they?
KATHY
About the deferrals.
TOMMY nods.
TOMMY
I was thinking that if this
rumour was true, it might explain
quite a lot.
KATHY
Such as?
TOMMY
Well - the Gallery for instance.
We never got to the bottom of it,
what the Gallery was for.
Beat.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
Pictures, poetry, sculptures. It
tells you something about
yourself. That’s the point about
art, isn’t it? It says what’s
inside you.
KATHY
That’s what they used to tell us.
It reveals your soul.
TOMMY
Exactly. Your soul.
(beat)
So suppose that the rumour is
true. A special arrangement has
been made for Hailsham students.
If they’re in love. There would
have to be a way to judge if
couples are telling the truth,
and not just lying to put off
their donations.
Beat.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
Well that’s what the Gallery
would be for. In the Gallery,
they can find out everything
about us that they need to know.
So if we say we’re in love, they
can look into our souls, and
they’ll know if it’s real love,
or just a lie.
Beat.
KATHY
That’s a strange idea, Tommy...
TOMMY
Is it? I don’t see why it’s
stranger than any other idea.
KATHY
... and didn’t Miss Lucy tell you
that making art for the Gallery
wasn’t important?
TOMMY
Yes. She did. But look what
happened to her.
A moment between TOMMY and KATHY.
Looking at each other. Then:
KATHY
Are you thinking of applying.
You and Ruth.
TOMMY
It wouldn’t work.
Beat.
KATHY
Why?
On TOMMY. Weighing up two possible answers. Then:
TOMMY
You forget. You had a lot
accepted into the gallery. If I
applied, they wouldn’t have
anything to go on.
KATHY
You never got anything into the
Gallery?
TOMMY
Nothing at all.
Beat.
KATHY
It’s all just rumours and
theories.
TOMMY
I know. But why else would the
guardians have wanted us to work
so hard on our art and poetry?
KATHY
I don’t know, Tommy. I really
don’t. *
94 EXT. COTTAGES - NIGHT 94
The Cottages, under a clear starry sky.
95 INT. TOMMY’S ROOM - NIGHT 95
RUTH and TOMMY are having sex.
96 INT. KATHY’S ROOM - CONTINUOUS 96
KATHY can hear RUTH and TOMMY.
She reaches for the Walkman, and puts it on.
For a few moments she is transported. *
97 INT. JUDY BRIDGEWATER LAND 97
DELETED *
98 INT. KATHY’S ROOM - CONTINUOUS 98
The song ends.
KATHY pulls off the headphones.
Opens her eyes.
Then JOLTS -
- at the sight of a figure, standing in her doorway.
It’s RUTH.
She enters KATHY’S bedroom, and quietly closes the door

behind her.
Then she pads over to KATHY’S bed, and kneels down.
The room is only lit by moonlight, filtering through the

window.
RUTH’S face, though close to KATHY’S, is in shadow.
A strange beat.
Then RUTH speaks.
RUTH
(quiet)
I know what you think, Kathy.
(beat)
I know you think that you and
Tommy would have made a natural
couple. And you believe there’s
a chance that Tommy and I will
split up some day. And when we
do, perhaps that will be your
chance with Tommy. A chance to
do it right this time.
RUTH’S hand reaches out, and gently brushes against KATHY’S

hair.
RUTH (CONT’D)
(quiet)
But the thing is, Kathy, although
Tommy really likes you as a
friend, he just doesn’t see you
that way.
RUTH laughs softly.

RUTH (CONT’D)
(quiet)
Tommy told me all about the porno
magazines. We had quite a laugh
about it.
RUTH voice lowers to barely whisper...
... and she puts her mouth so close to KATHY that she is
almost kissing KATHY’S ear.
RUTH (CONT’D)
(quiet)
He didn’t understand what you
were doing. But I did.
A moment later, RUTH stands...
... then leaves, closing the door softly behind her.
A beat, on KATHY’S moonlit face.
Her open eyes.
KEFFERS carries a box of groceries to the main house, where

KATHY is waiting at the front door.
When KEFFERS hands her the box, KATHY doesn’t take it.
KATHY
I want to be a carer.
KEFFERS looks back at her blankly.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
It’s you I apply to, isn’t it? *
KEFFERS
Yes.
KATHY
So. I’m applying.
KEFFERS nods.
KEFFERS
I’ll bring you the forms
tomorrow, and we can start to *
process. *
KATHY takes the box off KEFFERS.

DELETED. *
101 EXT. FIELD - EARLY EVENING 101 *
Plastic bags. Litter in barbed wire.
KATHY (V.O.) *
By the time Ruth and Tommy *
finally separated, my carer *
training had already begun, so I *
was hardly ever at the Cottages. *
In the field by the cottages, we can see a figure standing. *
TOMMY. *
He is looking away from the cottages - where we can see *

KEFFERS’ minibus is parked. *
KATHY (V.O.) (CONT’D) *

It had never occurred to me that
our lives, until then so closely
interwoven, could unravel and
separate with such speed.
KATHY is carrying a suitcase out of the front door to the

Cottages...
... towards the open boot of the minibus. *
Standing beside the minibus is KEFFERS. *
KATHY (V.O.)
If I had known, maybe I’d have
kept tighter hold of them, and
not let unseen tides pull us
apart.
A YOUNG MAN helps her with a second suitcase.
From the doorway of the Cottage, two other young people, a

BOY and a GIRL, watch them.
KATHY turns back and waves to the two standing in the *

doorway -
- who wave back, smiling.
KATHY’S gaze flicks up to RUTH’S window - *

- but no one is there. *
KATHY gets into the minibus... *
... and KEFFERS drives her away. *
FADE TO BLACK
Title:
PART 3: COMPLETION
FADE UP TO -
102A EXT. BLOCK OF FLATS - EARLY MORNING 102A
A block of flats in early morning.
103 INT. KATHY’S FLAT - CONTINUOUS 103
KATHY, aged twenty six, is lying on a single bed.
Beside the bed, her alarm is sounding.
KATHY switches it off.
Swings her legs out the side of the bed. Rises to a

sitting position. And rubs the sleep out of her eyes.
KATHY (V.O.)
For the most part, being a carer
has suited me fine. I can handle
the solitude, the broken sleep,
and the constant shuttle from
clinic to clinic.
We see around KATHY’S flat.
It is Spartan, tidy, functional, and gives no indication of

a life shared with anyone else.
There is a sense that KATHY only uses her flat for eating
an early breakfast, or a late dinner, and sleeping.
The one suggestion of a life outside work and sleep is,

lined on a shelf, four desk lamps. Each a different
colour.
104 INT. KATHY’S FLAT - EARLY MORNING 104
KATHY leans against the counter of her kitchenette, eating

cereal, gazing absently out of the window.
KATHY (V.O.)
The true test of a carer is when
a donor completes earlier than
expected, on the second or even
first donation. Many go through
the carer training, only to find
they aren’t cut out for it.
104A INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE KATHY’S FLAT - DAY 104A *
KATHY exits her flat, swipes her bracelet on the tracking *

system box, and locks the door behind her. *
105 INT. CAR - DAY 105
KATHY drives along an A-road.
106 INT. WARD ROOM - DAY 106
Seen through the doorway, KATHY sits beside a hospital bed.
In the bed is a woman about KATHY’S age. HANNAH.
HANNAH has one eye missing, and has bandages around her
abdomen.
KATHY pulls a packet of dark chocolate digestives from a

plastic carrier bag.
KATHY
Here you are. Dark chocolate.
If you knew how many shops I had
to try before I found them...
HANNAH
I thought I wasn’t allowed to eat
so soon before the operation.
KATHY breaks the seal on the packet, and takes one biscuit. *
KATHY
You aren’t, but I am. And after *
the operation, you can wolf down
the rest of the packet in one go. *
107 INT. DOVER RECOVERY CENTRE/CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS 107 *
Through glass, we see a MALE NURSE enter HANNAH’S ward *

room.
KATHY (V.O.)
I’d never say I’ve become immune
to the completions. But they are
something I am able to live with.
Out of our earshot, KATHY and the NURSE talk for a few
moments.
Then KATHY stands, and kisses HANNAH on each cheek.
108 EXT. DOVER RECOVERY CENTRE - DAY 108
The Dover Recovery Centre is in its own grounds.
It is in countryside, but near enough to a motorway to hear

the soft rush of traffic, like wind.
109 INT. LOUNGE AREA - DAY 109 *
KATHY sits on a chair in a lounge area. *
A few donor patients sit around watching TV, or playing *

ping pong. All are damaged - with eyes, teeth, or limbs *
missing. *
She is asleep, dozing with her head resting to the side.
Observed by one of the patients, a young FEMALE NURSE *

approaches KATHY. *
NURSE
You’re Hannah’s carer, aren’t
you?
KATHY stirs, and opens her eyes.
NURSE (CONT’D) *
Hannah’s carer.
KATHY
Yes.
Beat.
KATHY scans the NURSE’S face, and understand immediately

what she sees.
NURSE
I’m sorry. It’s always hard.
But there were complications.
KATHY
What kind of complications?
The NURSE’S expression remains neutral.
NURSE
Unexpected complications.
Beat.
KATHY
Right.
KATHY stands.
She looks very tired.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
You need me to sign the release.
NURSE
Please.
KATHY follows the NURSE to the ward desk.
110 INT. WARD DESK - CONTINUOUS 110
KATHY stands at the ward desk, filling out the forms that
the NURSE puts in front of her.
As KATHY writes:
NURSE
Are you going to leave now? We
can quite easily provide you with
a bed tonight if you’ve got a
long drive.
This is not a real offer.
KATHY
I can be back home in under two
hours.
NURSE
Always better to wake at home,
isn’t it?
KATHY smiles perfunctorily at the NURSE’S polite small

talk, and starts on the next form -
- then seems to notice something.

It’s on the COMPUTER SCREEN just behind the desk.
KATHY swivels the screen in order to read it.
On the screen is a medical information readout, and a small

passport-sized photo of RUTH.
NURSE (CONT’D) *
Is it someone you know?
KATHY
... Yes. Actually, we grew up
together.
NURSE
Oh.
Beat.
KATHY
How is she?
NURSE
... Were you close?
KATHY
Very close as children. Though
we haven’t seen each other now
for nearly a decade. *
NURSE
Well, Ruth isn’t as strong as we
would hope at this stage.
KATHY
(checking the patient
form)
She’s done two donations.
(looks up)
You think she’ll complete on the
third.
Beat.
NURSE
I think she wants to complete.
And as you know, when they want
to complete, they usually do.
111 INT. WARD CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS - DAY 111 *
KATHY stands outside a ward room.
She hesitates for a couple of moments.
Then goes in.

112 INT. RUTH’S WARD ROOM - CONTINUOUS 112
KATHY enters RUTH’S ward room.
The bed is empty.
The room feels very still.
KATHY walks up to the bed. On the bedside table is a glass

of water, half-full, and an open copy of a novel, the spine
bent back to keep its place.
KATHY checks over her shoulder, then opens the bedside

table drawer.
She sees a wrist-watch, and some hair-clips...
... and a single Hailsham token. Kept like a lucky casino *

chip. *
KATHY reacts.
Then shuts the drawer. *
Almost as soon as she has done so, KATHY hears a noise.
The toilet in the bathroom flushes.
KATHY turns, and, a moment later, the door to the toilet

opens.
Revealing RUTH.
She is struggling slightly to exit the bathroom, because

she is having to use a walker in order to stay upright, and
it’s awkward manoeuvring it past the self-closing door.
So for a moment or two, she doesn’t notice KATHY.
Then she has the walker past the doorframe.
And looks up.
Then freezes at the sight of KATHY. Momentarily stunned,

dislocated.
For a moment, the two women gaze at each other.
Then the moment is broken -
- as a smile breaks over RUTH’S face.
RUTH
Kathy.
113 INT. DOVER RECOVERY CENTRE - SUNSET 113 *
KATHY and RUTH walk down a corridor in the Dover Recovery *

Centre.
RUTH’S progress, using her walker, is slow.
RUTH *
I’ve kept tabs on you over the
years.
(beat)
And Tommy too.
KATHY
What do you hear about Tommy?
RUTH
That he’s done his second
donation too. And apparently,
he’s doing very well on it.
Apparently, he’s in better shape
than some after their first
donation.
KATHY
Good old Tommy. I’m not
surprised.
RUTH
... Are you surprised at me?
(beat)
I expect I look a bit broken,
Kath.
KATHY makes no response.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
But that’s okay. I’m not sure
I’d want to survive the third
donation anyway. You hear
things, don’t you?
KATHY
... What kind of things?
RUTH
Oh, you know. How maybe, after
the fourth donation, even if
you’ve technically completed,
you’re still conscious in some
sort of way. And then you find
out there are more donations.
Plenty of them. Except there are
no more recovery centres, and no
more carers. There’s just
watching, and waiting.
(MORE)
RUTH (CONT'D)
Until they switch you off.
(beat)
I don’t think I fancy that.
Silence.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
Is it the end of the day already?
KATHY looks up to the sky. *
The sun is low.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
It’s funny. Over the last few
months, I’ve probably thought
about you every day. Hoping I’d
see you. And actually I felt
sure I would. It seemed
impossible that I’d complete
without seeing you one last time.
Beat.
KATHY
It’s not the last time, yet,
Ruth. They offered me a bed
here. I was planning to stay the
night anyway.
114 EXT. DOVER RECOVERY CENTRE - NIGHT 114
Half the windows in the recovery center remain lit through

the night.
115 INT. RUTH’S WARD ROOM - DAY 115
The following morning.
KATHY is peeling an orange, watched by RUTH - who is lying

in her bed, propped up on pillows.
KATHY pulls the segments neatly apart, then hands them to

RUTH.
RUTH smiles.
RUTH
I knew you’d be a good carer.
Your donors are very lucky.
KATHY smiles back.

RUTH (CONT’D) *
Look - I was lying awake last
night, and I suddenly had an idea
that we’d take a trip together.
KATHY
Where to?
RUTH
(casual)
I didn’t much think of where.
Just a trip.
A moment.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
Though a place did occur to me.
One of the boys on the next floor
was telling me about it. It’s
near the Kingsfield recovery
center.
KATHY reacts slightly to the name Kingsfield.
KATHY
Is it the boat? The one stranded
on the beach? *
RUTH
You’re heard about it too?
KATHY
From a carer who had worked
there.
(beat)
It’s quite a drive from here.
Are you sure you’re up to it?
RUTH
Quite sure.
Beat.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
(gently)
And do you suppose, if we’re *
driving all that way, we could *
think about calling in on Tommy?
Seeing as he’s staying at
Kingsfield.
Another beat - then RUTH smiles.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
I told you I’d been keeping tabs *
on both of you.
(MORE)
RUTH (CONT’D)
(beat)
Have you seen him?
KATHY
Not since the Cottages.
RUTH nods.
RUTH
No. Neither have I.
FADE TO -
116 EXT. GATES - DAY 116
Large, automated cast iron gates.
A sign reads: Kingsfield Recovery Centre
The gates start to swing open, and KATHY’S car drives

through.
KATHY drives up towards the main building.
Outside the front doors, there is a group of four people,

patients, standing and chatting.
RUTH makes a sudden sharp intake of breath.
RUTH
Look. There he is.
One of the figures is TOMMY. Older, hair cut short,

thinner. But entirely recognisable.
He turns to watch the approaching car.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
Do you think he’s recognised us
through the glass?
As if in answer, TOMMY lifts his hand, as if shielding his

eyes from overhead light, and squints at them.
This sends RUTH into a slight panic.
RUTH (CONT’D)
What do we do? Do we get out?
No, no, let’s not get out.
But KATHY has already opened the door.
We stay in the car with RUTH -

- who watches, like a silent film, as TOMMY walks towards

KATHY.
Then hugs her.
118 EXT. KINGSFIELD RECOVERY CENTRE - DAY 118
Now we are with TOMMY and KATHY...
... as KATHY is spun round by TOMMY’S embrace -
- so that she now faces RUTH, watching through the car

windscreen.
RUTH face is oddly blank, almost frozen, as if she is

watching people in a play.
KATHY
(pulling back)
Ruth’s in the car.
TOMMY pulls back from KATHY, and goes to open the passenger
door...
... and now it is KATHY’S turns to watch through the

windscreen, as TOMMY leans in and kisses RUTH on each
cheek.
It is a different kind of greeting. More restrained. And

KATHY can see that.
119 EXT. NARROW COUNTRY ROAD - DAY 119
KATHY’S car drives down a narrow, winding country road.

Almost a dirt-track.
120 INT. CAR - CONTINUOUS 120
KATHY drives, with RUTH still in the passenger seat, and

TOMMY in the back seat.
TOMMY
I can’t believe I have the two of
you here. Does it feel to you *
like we’re back at Hailsham
again? Like no time has passed?
KATHY
No. It doesn’t.
TOMMY laughs.
TOMMY
No, it doesn’t at all, does it!
It feels really weird.
(beat)
But good weird!
TOMMY laughs again.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
So I suppose you both heard that
Hailsham was closed. From what
you hear, the only schools left *
now are like Morningdale. Like *
battery farms, they say.
(beat)
I’m sure it’s an exaggeration.
RUTH is looking out of the passenger window a little

anxiously, as the narrow road gets rougher and more
overgrown.
RUTH
Are you sure this is the right
way?
KATHY
Yes. I’m sure.
121 EXT. NARROW COUNTRY ROAD - DAY 121
KATHY stops the car.
The dirt track has come to an end.
KATHY and TOMMY exit the car.
RUTH opens her door and peers out.
Again, we see the same slight panic in RUTH that we saw

when they arrived at Kingsfield and saw TOMMY. It is as
if, over the intervening years, all her power and authority
has gone.
RUTH
My walker is going to be useless
here.
TOMMY
It’s okay. We’ll carry you.
RUTH sees that the way ahead is blocked by a tangled barbed

wire fence.
RUTH
Oh no. No one said anything
about this. No one said anything
about barbed wire.
TOMMY
Ruth, just relax.
122 INT. FOREST - DAY 122
KATHY and TOMMY carry RUTH, with one of her arms around
each of their shoulders.
RUTH is not paralysed - she just has very little power in

her legs. But the effort for TOMMY and KATHY is
considerable.
RUTH
Kath - really, are you absolutely
sure -
KATHY snaps slightly.
KATHY
Oh do be quiet, Ruth. I’ve
already told you I’m sure.
TOMMY
Yes, Ruth. For God’s sake.
RUTH closes her mouth, and sinks a little deeper into

herself.
123 EXT. SAND DUNES - DAY 123
The three of them exit the forest...
... into sand dunes.
And there, a little way ahead of them, is a BOAT.
An old fishing vessel - sat in the dunes as if in a

snapshot. Listing slightly. Paint peeling, rusting, and
rotting.
TOMMY
(quiet)
Wow.
123A EXT. BOAT - DAY 123A
TOMMY has climbed on to the boat. Right up to the cabin.
He laughs.
Looks back at RUTH and KATHY, and waves.
KATHY and RUTH are on the banks of the dune that overlooks
the boat.
KATHY is standing. RUTH is seated.
KATHY waves back to TOMMY, but RUTH doesn’t appear to see.

Apparently lost in her own thoughts.
123B EXT. SAND DUNES - DAY 123B
TOMMY and KATHY sit beside RUTH on the dune, facing the
boat.
TOMMY
Maybe this is what Hailsham looks
like now.
Beat.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
Do you ever hear, Kath. About
the other students from Hailsham?
KATHY
Sometimes.
TOMMY
I heard that Amanda completed on
her first donation.
RUTH
I think that happens more than
they ever tell us.
KATHY
There’s no conspiracy. It does
happen sometimes. But it’s not
common.
TOMMY keeps gazing at the boat.
TOMMY
There was a guy, at my centre.
He always worried he wouldn’t
make it past his first donation.
But it all turned out fine. He’s
come through his third now, and
he’s completely all right.
(beat)
It’s funny. I don’t think I’d
have been a good carer. But in a
way I think I’m a pretty good
donor.
RUTH
Well, it’s what we’re supposed to
be doing, isn’t it?
Silence.
Then:
RUTH (CONT’D) *
I’d like you both to forgive me.
I don’t expect you to.
A long silence.
None of them look at each other.
Then:
KATHY
... Forgive you for what?
RUTH
Keeping you and Tommy apart.
Silence.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
It should have been you two
together. I always knew it, as
far back as I can remember. But
I kept you apart. It wasn’t just
because of the rumours about
deferrals. It was because I was
jealous. You had real love, and
I didn’t. And -
RUTH takes a breath. This is the truth, and it’s hard.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
I didn’t want to be the one that
was left alone.
Silence.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
It’s the worst thing I ever did.
(beat)
And now I want to put it right.
TOMMY
(quiet)
I don’t know how you can do that,
Ruth.
RUTH
I can. If the two of you get a
deferral.
Tears start running down KATHY’S face, and she wipes them
away quickly.
KATHY
It’s too late for that. Way too
late. It’s stupid to even think
about it.
RUTH
It’s not too late. Tommy. You
tell her.
TOMMY says nothing.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
You’ll see. Both of you. I
wanted to do this trip because I
had something to give you.
RUTH reaches into her pocket and pulls out a crumpled piece
of paper.
She hands it to TOMMY.
RUTH (CONT’D) *
It’s Madame’s address. That’s
who you apply to. That’s who you
have to go and see.
TOMMY
... How did you get this?
RUTH
It wasn’t easy. But I’ve had
years to think about what I did,
and years to work out how to make
it better.
(beat)
Now it’s up to you two.
124 EXT. BOAT - DAY 124
A breeze whips up sand around the fishing boat.
The tide is coming in, lapping around the wood.
KATHY, TOMMY and RUTH have gone.
FADE TO -
125 EXTREME CLOSE UP 125
- of a drawing.
Many thousands of careful pen-strokes build up to depict an

ELEPHANT standing in tall grass.
It is oddly similar to the clumsy drawing that TOMMY did as

a child. In fact, compositionally it is the same.
But this drawing shows the opposite of clumsiness. If

anything, it shows a meticulous care, bordering on
obsessive.
And there is something strange about the surface of the

elephant. It is drawn as if it is reflective, or metallic.
TOMMY (O.S.)
What do you think?
126 INT. KINGSFIELD/TOMMY’S WARD ROOM - NIGHT 126
KATHY sits on the floor of TOMMY’S room in Kingsfield.
She is surrounded by more of these intricate black and

white pictures, all depicting different animals. But the
one she holds is of the elephant.
TOMMY
I started doing them when we were
in the Cottages. After that trip
to find Ruth’s possible. I
realised, you see. If I was ever
going to apply for a deferral,
I’d need something to show them.
(beat)
I’ve done hundreds over the
years.
KATHY
They’re wonderful.
TOMMY
Really? I never showed anyone
until now. They were my secret.
(beat)
Like you reading those porno
magazines.
KATHY looks up.
KATHY
You remember that?
TOMMY
I remember.
KATHY
... Ruth said you didn’t
understand what I was doing.
TOMMY
No. I think she didn’t
understand what you were doing.
She thought you were looking at
the dirty pictures in order to
find out about sex. To find out
what you were missing.
(beat)
But I knew you were looking for
your original.
Beat.
KATHY
I used to get these huge urges to
have sex. Sometimes they were so
powerful I thought I’d do it with
anyone.
(beat)
So I thought that had to tell me
something. Something about what
kind of person I was modelled
from. I guessed the magazines
would be the most likely place
I’d find her.
TOMMY
You know those urges are natural,
don’t you? Normal. We all had
them. You know that now.
KATHY
Yes. I know that now.
127 EXT. KINGSFIELD RECOVERY CENTRE - NIGHT 127
Lights glow in Kingsfield.
Through one of the windows, we can see TOMMY lying in his *

bed, and KATHY in the chair beside him, reading to him from
a book.
128 INT. KINGSFIELD/TOMMY’S WARD ROOM - CONTINUOUS 128
KATHY is reading from One Thousand And One Nights.
KATHY
I embarked on a ship to the city
of El-Basrah, with a company of
merchants, and we traversed the
sea for many days and nights.
Passing island after island, sea
to sea, land to land. In each
place, we bought and sold, and
exchanged merchandise.
KATHY glances at TOMMY as she reads.
KATHY (CONT’D)
Until we arrived at one island
like the gardens of paradise, and
the master of the ship cast
anchor there.
KATHY looks round at TOMMY’S face again.
TOMMY
(quiet)
Don’t stop.
KATHY watches him for a few moments.
Then she puts the book down.
Stands.
And gets into bed.
With her eyes never leaving his face, her hand slips under
the sheets towards TOMMY.
Then she leans forwards and starts to kiss him.
128A EXT. DOVER RECOVERY CENTRE - SUNSET 128A *
Sun sinking over the recovery center. *
129 EXT. DOVER RECOVERY CENTRE/RUTH’S WARD ROOM - DAY 129 *
RUTH sits by her window. *
She looks even weaker, skin even greyer, than the last time
we saw her.
KATHY sits by her. *
KATHY
We’re going to do it.
Beat.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
I thought you should know.
RUTH
You’re going to apply.
KATHY
Yes.
RUTH closes her eyes.

RUTH
Good.
129A EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - DAY 129A
KATHY is walking down a quiet street.
A MAN is walking just ahead of her, carrying a bunch of

multicoloured balloons.
KATHY is fixated on the fist holding the strings.
130 EXT. SEAFRONT ROAD - DAY 130
KATHY is seated on a seafront bench.
She watches elderly people making their way down the

promenade.
She holds the address RUTH gave her.
Her gaze is directed at one house in particular.
As she watches, in the background, a tall Nigerian man -

GEORGE - pushes an old woman on a wheelchair.
The old woman is wrapped and sunk into a blanket, and

though we do not see her face, it is in fact MISS EMILY.
131 EXT. KINGSFIELD RECOVERY CENTRE - DAY 131
KATHY and TOMMY walk around the Kingsfield grounds, by a

swimming pool which has been filled-in with concrete.
KATHY
I checked the address.
(beat)
We just go there. Next week,
I’ll take you for lab tests.
I’ll sign you out for the whole
day. And we’ll visit Madame on
the way back.
TOMMY nods.
TOMMY
If we get this - she gives us the
deferral - and she gives us, say,
three years, just to ourselves...
what do we do? Where will we go?
KATHY
I don’t know. Maybe they’ll send
us back to the Cottages.
(MORE)
KATHY (CONT'D)
Or maybe they have a separate
place for people like us. We’ll
have to wait and see.
TOMMY
We’ll have to decide which of my
pictures to take. We’ll only
take the best. Maybe six or
seven or them.
KATHY
Yes.
As they walk, KATHY takes TOMMY’S hand.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
(repeats)
Yes.
132 INT. OPERATING CHAMBER 132
RUTH is strapped to an operating table.
She is surrounded by SURGEONS and NURSES, who are operating

on her opened torso.
Her eyes are open, but glazed.
RUTH blinks once.
The alarm on the heart-rate monitor starts to sound.
No one takes any notice.
RUTH flatlines.
The operation continues, unaffected.
Concludes.
And the various operating staff finish up. Scrub down.

Exit.
Leaving RUTH, her cadaver, on the operating table. Alone.
KATHY and TOMMY sit in the car -
- looking at a red brick terraced house.
A woman is outside the house, weeding large terra-cotta

planters in the front garden.
The woman is MADAME.

134 EXT. MADAME’S HOUSE - DAY 134
KATHY and TOMMY approach the front gate.
MADAME doesn’t appear to notice them.
KATHY
Madame.
MADAME starts - and looks up. Confused.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle
you. But we were at Hailsham.
I’m Kathy. This is Tommy.
(beat)
We haven’t come to give you any
trouble.
MADAME
From Hailsham...
(beat)
If you haven’t come to give me
trouble, then why are you here?
TOMMY
We came to talk to you. I’ve
brought you some things.
TOMMY lifts his bag.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
Some things you might want for
your Gallery.
A long beat, as MADAME gazes at them, head tilted slightly.
Then she nods.
MADAME
Very well, then. Come inside.
135 INT. MADAME’S HOUSE/LIVING ROOM - DAY 135
The inside of the house is dark, and MADAME doesn’t switch

on the lights.
MADAME ushers TOMMY and KATHY into the living room, then
dissapears.
The living room was once two rooms, with the partition wall
removed, now replaced by a sliding screen.
The interior is lit by what light filters through the net

curtains.
It reveals a Victorian living room, with period furniture,

and a feeling of dust and age.
On one wall are two agit-prop posters, in support of the

Hailsham movement.
Opposite, a large watercolour of Hailsham is hung above the

fireplace.
TOMMY
Look.
He indicates the watercolour to KATHY.
They talk quietly.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
It’s Hailsham. It’s the bit
around the back of the pond. *
KATHY
What do you mean? There’s no
pond here. *
TOMMY
No, the pond’s behind you.
KATHY seems slightly taken aback by the irritation in

TOMMY’S voice.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
You must be able to remember. If
you’re round the back, with the
pond behind you...
KATHY
Yes.
Their quiet exchange is silenced by noise on the far side

of the sliding screen: MADAME moving about. Then the
sliding screen is pulled back...
... but apparently for no purpose. The rear half of the

living room - beyond what was once the partition wall - is
almost completely in shadow.
With the screen fully pulled back, MADAME enters the lit
area of the room, and indicates that they should sit.
MADAME takes a seat in an armchair beside the fireplace,

and KATHY and TOMMY sit on the sofa opposite.
As they get comfortable, there is a soft mechanical

whirring sound from the dark half of the living room, which
KATHY is distracted by.
Then brought back to focus by MADAME.

MADAME
So.
Long beat.
Then:
TOMMY
We’re in love.
TOMMY turns to KATHY. Then back to MADAME.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
We’re in love. True love.
Verifiable.
KATHY
We would never have bothered you
if we weren’t really sure.
MADAME
Verifiable. I see.
(beat)
Go on.
TOMMY
Well, we’d heard about the
deferrals. And we’d worked out
the purpose of the Gallery.
MADAME
Tell me the purpose.
TOMMY
To use our art from Hailsham to
look into our souls, which would
verify that we deserved a
deferral.
MADAME does not react.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
The trouble is, I was a bit mixed
up in those days. I didn’t
really do any art, so you never
took anything. I know that’s my
fault, and it’s probably much too
late...
He reaches down and opens his bag.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
... but I brought some things
with me now.
He starts to lay the drawings out on the floor for MADAME

to see.
TOMMY (CONT’D) *
Some were done quite recently,
but a lot of them are several
years old, so there’s a spread.
And you should have Kath’s stuff
already. She got plenty into the
Gallery, didn’t you, Kath?
ON KATHY -
- looking at MADAME.
She’s a step ahead of TOMMY. Realising the mistake that

she and TOMMY have made. Perhaps because, deep down, she
already knew.
MADAME
I’m sorry.
(beat)
I don’t know what to do at this
point. I never know what to do.
Should I let them continue, or
should I stop them now?
Silence.
It takes a moment to realise that this question was not

asked to the ether, but was directed at someone in
particular.
Someone actually in the room, who has not yet been

revealed.
MADAME (CONT’D) *
Well?
Beat.
MADAME (CONT’D) *
It’s you they’ve really come to
see.
VOICE
I suppose it is.
The VOICE has come from the darkness at the rear of the
living room.
And from that darkness now comes the metallic whirring

again. A wheel turning.
VOICE (CONT’D) *
I’ll take it from here.
A moment later, out of the darkness, MISS EMILY appears.

A shrunken figure, pushed forwards on a wheelchair by her

nurse, GEORGE.
MISS EMILY
Leave us, George. I’ll call when
I’m done.
GEORGE turns and goes.
A moment between MISS EMILY, KATHY and TOMMY.
KATHY and TOMMY are frozen with surprise.

Kathy H and Tommy D. I remember
you both. Kathy, a bright girl,
and so creative. Tommy, a big
heart. And terrible rages.
TOMMY remains motionless, holding one his drawings in his

hand.

We used to get two or three
couples like you a year. But not
so much these days.
(beat)
You’re the first for quite a
while.
TOMMY still doesn’t quite understand.
TOMMY
To apply for a deferral. *
KATHY
(quiet)
There are no deferrals, Tommy.
TOMMY looks at KATHY, uncomprehending.
Then back at MADAME. Who gently confirms.
MADAME
There are no deferrals. And
there never have been.
Beat.
MISS EMILY
We didn’t have the Gallery in
order to look into your souls.
We had the Gallery in order to
see if you had souls at all.
In the silence, MADAME stands.

She goes to the Hailsham watercolour above the fireplace,

and gazes at it a moment.

Hailsham was the last place to *
consider the ethics of donation. *
We used your art to show what you *
were capable of. To show that *
donor children were all but *
human. *
But it was all a mistake. We *
were providing an answer to a *
question that no one was asking. *
MISS EMILY glances at MADAME.
Then back to TOMMY and KATHY.

You have to understand. Cancer *
used to kill almost everyone.
Now it kills no one at all. *
(beat)
You see, it’s not an ethical *
issue. It’s just about the way *
we are. If you ask people to *
return to darkness, the days of
lung cancer, and breast cancer,
and motor neurone disease...
(she shrugs)
... they simply say no.
Beat.

Do you understand?
KATHY
Yes.
MADAME turns to TOMMY.
MADAME
Your drawings are very good. If
you want, I’ll keep them.
TOMMY doesn’t answer.
He just stares blankly into space.
136 EXT. MADAME’S HOUSE - DAY 136
TOMMY and KATHY leave MADAME’S house.
TOMMY walks ahead of KATHY, straight to the car parked

outside, and gets inside.
KATHY pauses at the doorway, where MADAME stands.
KATHY
Thank you for talking to us.
MADAME says nothing.
Beat.
KATHY (CONT’D) *
I know what you’re thinking.
MADAME reacts, slightly dreamily, as if she has momentarily

lost focus.
MADAME
Tell me.
KATHY
There was a time you saw me. It
was one afternoon, in the
dormitories. There was no one
else around, and I was playing
this tape. This music.
MADAME smiles distantly.
MADAME
Yes.
(beat)
I still think about that occasion
from time to time.
KATHY
... So do I.
A beat.
Then MADAME reaches out, and touches KATHY’S cheek.
MADAME
You poor creatures. I wish I
could help you. But you’re by
yourselves now.
137 INT. CAR - EARLY EVENING 137
KATHY and TOMMY drive in silence through countryside, back

towards Kingsfield.
Shadows are long. The countryside is bathed in the last of

the day’s sunlight.
Fields line the road on either side.

TOMMY
Could you stop the car? I’m
sorry. I need to get out a
minute.
KATHY turns to TOMMY, but TOMMY is looking directly ahead,

his gaze fixed on an indeterminate point.
KATHY slows the car, pulls over to the side of the road.
They stop on a small grass verge.
Without saying another word, TOMMY gets out of the car, and
shuts the door behind him.
Leaving KATHY in a little bubble of silence.
She watches as TOMMY walks a short way down the road.
Then stops, caught in the glare of the headlights.
Then, just as he did as young boy, on the playing field -
- he throws his head back and starts to scream at the sky.
Insulated from the sound, KATHY watches.
Then she opens the door.
138 EXT. CAR - CONTINUOUS 138
KATHY walks to TOMMY.
KATHY and TOMMY stand by KATHY’S car.
They embrace, holding each other tightly for several

moments.
Eventually, FADE TO -
139 INT. HAILSHAM - DAY 139
KATHY, twelve, sits in the art room. *
She sees TOMMY, studiously working on his drawing. *
Sees RUTH, working on her own drawing.
She watches them for several moments. In the afternoon

sunshine. The tree tops moving in the wind outside the art
room windows.
Then TOMMY looks up at KATHY and smiles.

KATHY (V.O.)
Tommy completed on his fourth
donation.
CUT TO -
KATHY’S car is driving along an empty road.
KATHY (V.O.)
I’ve been given my notice now.
My first donation is in six
weeks.
KATHY isn’t sobbing, but her eyes are filling with tears.
KATHY (V.O.)
What I’m not sure about is
whether our lives have been so
different from the lives of the
people we save. We all complete.
She pulls over to the side of the road, and gets out of the
car.
KATHY stands by the roadside, collecting herself.
By the road are fences, lining the fields.
And caught in the barbed wire...
... are hundreds of abandoned plastic bags.
KATHY (V.O.)
And none of us really understand
what we’ve lived through. Or
feel we’ve had enough time.
END

Never Let Me Go

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Never Let Me Go

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ScreenplaY by

Screenplay by Alex Garland

Adapted from the novel by

Shooting Script issued 24th March 2009

© DNA Films Limited 2009 Production Office:

2 EXT. FIELD - EARLY EVENING 2

Long shadows as the sun goes down.

A field, by a road, lined with a fence.

Snagged in the barbed wire are hundreds of plastic bags.

By the road, a car is parked up against the grass verge.

Standing by the car, a young woman with blonde hair, KATHY,

KATHY (V.O.) (CONT’D)

3 INT. OBSERVATION ROOM 3

- the same woman, KATHY, standing at the window of an

She is absentmindedly twisting a metal bracelet on her

Through the glass, she is watching NURSES and SURGEONS

4 INT. OPERATING CHAMBER 4

TOMMY is in the process of being sedated.

He also wears a metal bracelet.

Beside him, an ANESTHETIST is inserting a drip into his

5 INT. OBSERVATION ROOM 5

TOMMY turns his head to look at KATHY.

Their locked gaze is held for a beat.

Then KATHY nods. Very slight. As if to say: it’s okay.

TOMMY continues looking a moment longer.

Then the ANESTHETIST’S drug takes a hold of him. In a few

6 EXT. FIELD - EARLY EVENING 6

As we CLOSE IN on KATHY, leaning against the car, her hair

... FADE IN the sound of children playing.

KATHY (V.O.) (CONT’D)

7 EXT. HAILSHAM - DAY 7

HAILSHAM SCHOOL: a large Victorian house, set in flat,

The sky above is bright blue and cloudless. The sun is

The extensive grounds of the school are surrounded by high

The title is not seen, but is SPOKEN by TOMMY.

After a few seconds, a title does appear on the screen.

8 EXT. HAILSHAM GROUNDS - DAY 8

In sunlight, two girls, aged twelve, lie on their bellies

Both wear the metal bracelets - as do all students at

The grass is strewn with daisies.

One girl has blonde hair. This is KATHY.

The other is dark. This is RUTH.

KATHY is interlocking the stems of the small flowers,

RUTH pauses. Thinking a moment.

RUTH trails off.

KATHY makes the last link.

She lifts the daisy chain delicately.

KATHY places it over RUTH’S blonde hair...

... where it looks like it belongs.

KATHY follows RUTH’S gaze.

By the entrance of the main house, two women have appeared.

The other is younger, in her late twenties.

A moment, as the two girls watch the two women, squinting

8A EXT. HAILSHAM DAY - DAY 8A

A group of boys in their PE kits, run through an outdoor

9 EXT. PLAYING FIELDS - DAY 9

- then onto the playing fields, watched by... *

10 EXT. ORNATE GATE - CONTINUOUS 10 *

... a group of girls, watching from the shade of a large *

The girls are joined by KATHY and RUTH.

The girls all laugh -

KATHY watches TOMMY with slight concern.